The Secret World Of
by S.Ann Smith
Summary: CROSSOVER with the Secret World of Alex Mack (SciFiGirl1's challenge): Chlex AlexClark... (ch 8 edited to add separators that were deleted by server) UPDATED: 01-05-05 CHAPTER 26!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my computer, and possibly my brain... no wait... that was infested with rabbits with machine guns... uh... so yeah.. own nothing.. what you thought i did? Poor child. you need to take a nap.  
Rating: PG-13 to be safe  
Genre: General/Crossover  
Summary: answer to a fic challenge from SciFiGirl1 over at NS: Crossover Smallville and The Secret World of Alex Mack... Chlex, Clark/Alex  
Timeline: SV: Lana is living with Chloe, Nell's in Metropolis, Pete still in SV. Chloe and Lionel--- never happened. Lex has his memory. SWOAM: Alex in last year of High School. More will be explained  
Pairing: Chlex. Alex/Clark  
Spoilers: None that I can think of... uh.. what I can remember of 'The Secret World of Alex Mack'  
A/N: Ok, so if anybody knew that I was planning on posting this when I got back from my trip, let me tell you right now, I'm a horrible liar.. I have a tendancy of saying one thing, and doing the complete opposite when it comes to updating etc... but seriously, I'm going to give you a present now, (ch's 0-4) and hope you throw any rotten things at me until I get back.. ok? ok I'm putting on my protective gear just in case though...  
  
The Secret World Of  
by S. Ann Smith  
  
Prologue  
  
Alex was sitting in the family's new mini van. A courtesy vehicle from her father's new plant: LuthorCorp. She had left her best friend Ray, and the troubles of Atron High behind.  
  
It had been three years since she had came in contact with GC-161. And six months since she had taken the antidote for GC-161. She had learned, with the help of Annie, how to live without her powers.  
  
But Annie was gone. To California State University on some Chemistry scholarship, and she was stuck in a van. On the road to hickville USA. Stuck with just herself, because her parents were absolutely no help with anything.  
  
She sighed as they passed the sign that declared the place she was going to graduate from. The place away from her friends. So far away that it was in Kansas, half way across the country from Paradise Valley. Half way across the friggen country. She thought exasperated.  
  
Welcome to Smallville. The sign practically needed an exclamation mark behind it. It screamed tacky, with it's green meteor rocks. Alex played with the shoelace on her Vans as she absently looked out the window.  
  
'Meteor Capital of America' She inwardly rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long, boring, year.


	2. 1

1.  
  
Lana came rushing up to Clark and Chloe. Knowing Lana, she had to tell everybody what she knew. It was her gift to the world. Chloe inwardly rolled her eyes. Lana smiled brightly. "You'll never guess what I heard!"  
  
"Pink is the new green?" Chloe said looking at Lana. Lana was sporting her 'When the hell did Chloe get here?' look on her face.  
  
"No, Silly-Nilly!" Lana said looking at her like she was nuts. "Somebody moved into my old house!"  
  
"I know." Chloe said smirking. Lana continued to ignore her and eagerly awaited Clark's response to this exciting news.  
  
"Really? Wow." Clark smiled. "Maybe I'll have somebody to play basketball with, Pete's starting to get mad at me."  
  
Lana continued to look at him like he was a god. "Why is that?"  
  
"Clark always wins." Chloe said breaking the silence. She heard her name being called over the PA system. "If you'll excuse me, I have to see a man about a dog." She said leaving their confused looks behind her.  
  
When Chloe walked into the Principal's office, she was greeted by the unusually unfriendly face of a tall blonde. Without being overly friendly in the Lana Lang sense, Chloe extended her hand to the tomboyish blonde. "Chloe Sullivan." She smiled.  
  
The blonde looked up at her and returned the smile, and handshake. "Alex Mack."  
  
The principal came into the room and smiled. "Miss Sullivan, I see you have met Alex." Chloe nodded. "It is your job to introduce her to the wonders of Smallville High. Although you weren't my first choice, being the LuthorCorp Plant Manager's daughter, I felt that you were most suited for the job." He handed her Alex's schedule.  
  
Chloe fought the urge to roll her eyes. Somehow, he had managed to both compliment her and insult her while making himself seem like a nice person. He must be taking lessons from Lana.  
  
"How original." Chloe said with a smirk.  
  
-----------------------------  
  
Alex was being led by a petite blonde girl down the colourful hallway. Orange and red were everywhere. Typical of a high school, there were banners proudly declaring, "go Crows", and the Cheer-leading Squad in all their glory. There were the jocks, hanging off of the Squad. The nerds behind their thick glasses, and pocket protecters. She wondered what persona this girl, Chloe, she corrected herself, was.  
  
"This is the library, it has a hefty supply of books." Chloe said as they walked by the glass doors. 'Library Closed' The sign on the door screamed.  
  
"What's the point of a library if it's closed?" Alex ventured.  
  
"It was open last week, there was a disturbance in there." Chloe whispered conspiratorially. "I heard that somebody almost burnt down the library by just looking at it." Then Chloe's voice returned to its full fervour as she continued "But that's what makes Smallville, Smallville." She smiled a full 1000 watt smile.  
  
"What do you mean?" Alex asked carefully.  
  
"Well, Smallville isn't exactly Port Normal, in the population trend." Chloe said, then her smile broke through again. "I think that I need to introduce you to the wall." Alex looked at her in confusion. This girl was going to beat her up?  
  
"I still don't understand. The wall?"  
  
Chloe opened a door, that ever so proudly declared "the Torch" There was a smiling cartoon crow holding a torch. 'How creative.' The petite blonde led Alex deep into the dark room. In one blinding second, the lights were on.  
  
Alex was greeted with a disorganized array of newspaper clippings, pictures, and artifacts. "What is all of this?" She asked turning to look at Chloe. The blonde shrugged.  
  
"Its my hobby." She smiled.  
  
-----------------------------  
  
Alex gaped at the wall again. There were some pretty weird headlines. "'Bug Boy slays mother'" Alex read. "'Duplicate boy'. Right. So where's the guy that tells me that I have gone on a journey beyond sight and sound?" She asked only half serious.  
  
"Laugh all you want. I've been here for almost five years, and everything keeps getting stranger." Chloe shrugged. She figured that it would have been easier to show this Alex girl the wall than try to explain to her exactly how messed up Smallville was. Plus, Alex didn't seem like the kind of girl to fall into the crowd of Lana Lang, and for that Chloe was grateful.  
  
"Who's this?" Alex asked, pointing to the TIME magazine cover of Smallville's own.  
  
"That? That's Lana. Smallville's very own pink princess. She's around here somewhere." Chloe figured that Lana and Clark were still where she had left them mooning after each other. "I'd tell you her back story but she'll probably tell you ten times over before the day is over."  
  
"You'll never guess who made first string!" Pete's voice came from the doorway behind them.  
  
"Not you." Chloe said smiling as she turned around to face him.  
  
"Way to ruin my segue Sullivan." Pete said smiling. "No, but seriously, I got this much closer." He said holding his hands up by his eye. He was making a pinching motion.  
  
"Pete, have you met Alex?" Pete looked behind Chloe. "I don't have any competition for first string do I?"  
  
"Not unless they let girls on the team." Alex said turning around to meet him.  
  
As Chloe watched Pete shamelessly check her out, she couldn't resist rolling her eyes. "Pete Ross, Alex Mack. Alex, Pete." Chloe introduced. "Alex is in your Phys Ed class though Pete." She smiled looking at Alex's schedule. "Would you like to help me take her around the school? You can flirt with her all you want to then." Her smile never waning, never changing. She had learned to do that from the best.


	3. 2

2.  
  
Barbara Mack wandered down the main street of the small town her husband had taken her and her daughter.  
  
There were mainly tourist shops selling plastic and real meteor rocks from the meteor shower that had changed the way the citizens in this small town lived. Signs declared everything above baskets. Fresh vegetables. Fresh fruit. Fresh everything. Barbara smiled as she entered what looked like a vintage theatre masquerading as a coffee shop.  
  
There was a small red-headed woman sitting in a booth. She smiled openly at the blonde. "You must be Mrs. Mack." She said offering her a seat in the booth.  
  
Barbara nodded. This must be a really small town for her to know that.  
  
"Yes." Barbara confirmed.  
  
"Martha Kent." Martha smiled. "I live in the yellow farm house next to yours."  
  
Maybe this town wasn't going to be so bad after all.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Alex was sitting in Chemistry class. Bored out of her mind. Chemistry wasn't her strong subject. The only reason she made it through junior Chemistry was through the combined efforts of her father and Annie. She was just the Chemistry experiment, not the Chemistry whiz. It was not her strong point.  
  
But then again there was that tall, buff, farm boy known as her lab partner. He had shyly introduced himself as Clark at the beginning of class.  
  
They were given time to set up the experiment.  
  
"You moved into the old Potter house didn't you?" Clark asked setting down the Bunson Burner.  
  
"Tall, pastel?" Clark nodded. "Yep that's us." She smiled. Setting down the assorted chemicals.  
  
"Lana used to live there." Clark said dreamily. Oh lord. Alex inwardly rolled her eyes, she was invading on the princess's territory. That would be like popularity suicide.  
  
"What's her deal anyway? Chloe said that she was Smallville's own princess." Alex asked curiously. She had yet to see this enigma that everyone seemed to worship. She was eager to know why this was.  
  
"Lana? Chloe told you about the meteor shower right?" Alex nodded. Just get to the point already Clark. She inwardly rolled her eyes. He was a nice guy, cornflower blue eyes, adorable butt, he just needed to learn how to get to the point. "Well, when the meteor shower hit, Lana was barely three, her parents were caught in the main street part of the shower. Lana was at the flower shop that her aunt owned, and watched her parents die. Since then, the town, sort of, adopted her." He shrugged.  
  
"The poor girl." Alex said softly looking back to her job. Mixing the chemicals, she felt a familiar heat flowing to her zapping finger. She looked up quickly. "I have to go." She said quickly.  
  
Clark was fumbling. "Wha-What? Why?"  
  
"Bathroom." She said quickly, and excused herself from the class.  
  
She ran outside, and scouted before she pointed her finger. An all too familiar string of electricity ran from the base of her spine down to her fingertip.  
  
Eyes wide she mumbled one word: "shit."  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Chloe was on her way to her car. It was her spare block and she was going to visit Lex at the mansion. A soft smile formed on her lips when she thought of all of the things that she could do with him to take his mind off of, well, anything. Then she seen Alex. She was about to call Alex's name when she saw a string of electricity flow from the tip of her finger.  
  
The yellow stream went from her finger to the telephone wire above the parking lot.  
  
"How did you do that Alex?" She asked the blonde in front of her.  
  
Alex spun around and faced her. "Chloe?" She asked quickly hiding her hand behind her.  
  
"How did you do that Alex?"  
  
"Its a long story." She said not daring to look into Chloe's eyes.  
  
"I have time." Chloe said shifting from one foot to the other.  
  
"But I don't. I have to get back to Chemistry." Alex was nervously eyeing the entrance to the school.  
  
'What else is she hiding?' Chloe's thoughts ran rampantly through her brain.  
  
"Here's my cell number." She quickly scribbled down her number and handed it to Alex. "I would like to hear your story." She said making sure to look the blonde in the eye, making sure that Alex knew that she meant no harm.  
  
Alex nodded, and sprinted into the building.  
  
Chloe pressed number one on her speed dial and got Lex's cell phone.  
  
"Luthor." Her lover's voice barked.  
  
"Are you wearing any pants?" She asked seductively.  
  
"I'll fax your papers to you later." He said quickly.  
  
"So that's a no?" She smiled. He was in a board meeting.  
  
"Excuse me." His muffled voice spoke to the members of the board as he stood up. She heard him stand up and walk out of the room. "What is it honey?" He asked softly.  
  
"I can't make our rendezvous." She said softly, knowing that he had been looking forward to it. "But I'll see you tomorrow?"  
  
"I'm going to Metropolis tomorrow."  
  
"I'll skip school, we can make a day of it." She said with a smile.  
  
"I'm working, and you can't miss a day." He wasn't alone. She could tell by the way he carefully chose his words.  
  
"I can, you just don't want me to." She said with a smile on her face. "Afraid I might make your day too ... special?" she asked huskily. Licking her lips she headed back into the school - the long way.  
  
"Come over to the mansion tonight, I'll give you your papers then." He replied huskily.  
  
"I'll try." She smiled to herself, as she ran her fingers along the stucco school wall.  
  
"Don't try. Be there." He murmured softly and hung up his phone.  
  
Chloe ran her fingers through her hair nervously. She had to figure out what Alex was, before tonight.


	4. 3

3.  
  
Entering the school, Chloe headed into the Torch, and straight for her computer. She typed in Paradise Valley, into her trusty search engine and received a link for the Paradise Valley Chemical plant.  
  
Knowing that Alex's father was a previous employee in the plant, she typed in Mack and discovered that George Mack was head of the GC-161 project, a Chemistry Major from California State, Chemistry researcher. Chloe's head was spinning at the sheer thought of doing chemical equations for the rest of her life. But what ever makes you happy, she shrugged and plugged ahead. Following a hunch she typed in GC-161 in the system's database.  
  
GC-161 was a experimental chemical that was on it's way to go under further research when former driver David Watt lost half of the load in a mysterious accident. This was the accident that caused Watt his job.  
  
"This is interesting." She spoke to herself. 'Following the discovery of illegal testing of GC-161 a chemical compound formed at Paradise Valley Chemical Plant. PVCP President Danielle Atron's right-hand man Lars Fredrickson was discharged from his duties earlier this week under unusual circumstances.' If Chloe had a dollar for every time she heard 'under unusual circumstances' she would be richer than Lex. She smirked. Like that was possible.  
  
There was something up with that Alex Mack, and Chloe was going to figure out exactly what it was.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
"How was your first day Alex?" Barbara Mack asked from the stove. Alex had promptly plopped herself down at the kitchen table with a soda after taking the bus home.  
  
"Good." Alex said taking a sip. "I met the plant's daughter today. Her friends are nice." Alex smiled thinking of Clark.  
  
"Oh yeah. Any boys that I should know about?" Alex looked at her mother in shock.  
  
"Mom!" She said exasperated getting up from the table.  
  
"So that's a yes then?" She called up the stairs after her. Alex rolled her eyes as she closed her door behind her.  
  
Sitting on her bed, she ran her fingers through her long hair. Her mind was racing. If her zapper was back, that would mean that the antidote hadn't worked. And if the antidote hadn't worked, that would mean that she still had her powers. She needed to talk to Annie. Annie would know what to do.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Clark was in his barn; his fortress of solitude, as Pete called it. It was almost dinner time, and he had been watching the Potter house for any sign of movement. Alex's room was Lana's old room he guessed, as the light turned on and a figure, entered the room. He was right. It was Alex-  
  
"Uh, Oh, I know that look." Clark spun around to face his mother.  
  
"What do you mean Mom?"  
  
Martha smiled. "Could it be that you've gotten over your fixation with Lana?"  
  
Clark looked at his mother in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about." He shook his head and turned back towards the window. The figure was rearranging things in the room. Hanging up a curtain, putting things on shelves. Normal things. He really hoped that Alex was as normal as she seemed.  
  
She didn't give off any other vibe than human. He couldn't sense any meteor-anything on her, but that could be because she from Smallville. She was from California. But Clark wanted to be certain. He had been wrong before.  
  
Smiling an enigmatic smile that only Martha could, she changed the subject. "I met the new neighbours today."  
  
Clark's head whipped back around.  
  
"Don't look so surprised Clark." She smiled the enigmatic smile again. "I went to town today and met Barbara Mack." Clark cocked his head to the side. 'That must be Alex's mother.'  
  
"And?"  
  
"And," She paused, "they're coming over for dinner tomorrow night."  
  
"What?!"


	5. 4

4.  
  
The Mack family was sitting around the dinner table, having their first official meal in their new home.  
  
"I met the neighbours today."  
  
"And are they your typical farm bred family?" George Mack asked. Alex rolled her eyes at her father. He was always so caught up in molecules and chemical compounds that he didn't realize what he had said.  
  
"Don't roll your eyes at me Alex." George said with a smile taking a bite of his wife's famous casserole. "How was school?"  
  
"Very - interesting?"  
  
"She met a boy." Alex looked at her mother quickly. She was sure that she was glaring.  
  
"I did not!" Then she thought about how that sounded. "Well, I did meet one, but he's just my chemistry partner."  
  
Her dad's face lit up. "Chemistry hmm?"  
  
Barbara looked at her husband and winked. "They have Chemistry together."  
  
"It's nothing like that."  
  
"Methinks the lady doth protest too much."  
  
"Since when do you quote Shakespeare, Mom?"  
  
"I'm just saying that sometimes your heart tells you one thing, and your brain tells you something else."  
  
"Annie told me that once." Alex smiled as the phone rang. "That's Annie!" She jumped up and grabbed the phone.  
  
"So much for a nice dinner." Barbara said throwing her hands up in the air.  
  
"Hello?" Alex questioned while shooting her mother a look that could have made titans fall.  
  
"Alex?"  
  
"Annie!" Then she covered the mouth piece. "Excuse me." She said and sprinted up the stairs.  
  
"Alex, what's wrong? You sounded worried in your message." Came Annie's worried voice from California.  
  
Making sure that her door was closed, she spoke softly. "It didn't work."  
  
"I don't understand. What didn't work? Alex you're not making sense."  
  
"The antidote. It didn't work."  
  
"They came back?" Annie was in her dorm, this Alex knew, and couldn't talk openly about it.  
  
"Yeah, today. What should I do Annie?"  
  
"Don't do anything to disrupt them. Don't tell our parents anything, they'll just panic."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Absolutely. So are there any cute boys in Kansas?"  
  
Alex laughed. "You'll just have to find out when you come for Christmas."  
  
"Fine. Do you have a boyfriend yet?"  
  
"Annie! I've only been here for one day!"  
  
"So that's a yes?" Annie's voice smiled on the other end.  
  
--------------------  
  
Chloe was sitting in an overstuffed chair in the library of the Luthor Mansion. Lex was on the phone with some important business associate. Since their relationship was a secret, she had to be quiet while he was on the phone. She took a pen and scribbled 'Food' on a piece of paper and waved it in front of him. He nodded, and she kissed his forehead softly, before leaving the room.  
  
She was puttering around the kitchen making a sandwich. She hadn't eaten since lunch, and was famished.  
  
Suddenly strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist. "Hungry?" She leaned into the touch.  
  
"You have no idea." She said turning around in his arms. She kissed him deeply. Squeezing his butt softly she looked him in his eyes. "Now make me a sandwich." She smiled.


	6. 5

5.

Alex was having a great dream. She was back at Paradise Valley, with Ray. They went to the Ice Cream Parlour down the street from Atron High School. It had started to rain on them, and Ray offered his umbrella.

Beep! Beep!

Suddenly cars were whizzing by them and somebody splashed them with a puddle water.

Beep! Beep!

"Alex get up! You're going to be late!"

Beep! Beep!

Dream-Alex looked around Paradise Valley's unusually busy main street in confusion. Late for what?

Beep-ep-ep-ep-ep-ep-ep-ep

Alex jumped up in her bed. She turned over to where her alarm clock should be. Instead of coming in contact with the small green clock, her hand came in contact with the cool surface of wall.

Random objects started to fall from where they were happily floating around in the dead space above boxes of other random objects.

"Shit!" She swore loudly trying to catch the breakable objects from hitting the ground. The less breakable objects were floated back to their happy little spots on the floor.

"I'm up!" She called loudly as she stood at the door. "Having a shower." She called again before going into the small upstairs bathroom.

Locking the door, Alex stood in front of the mirror and took the ponytail out of her hair.

Visualizing her target she felt her body turn to it's morphed form. In an ironic sense, she had missed the freedom that morphing had given her mind you freedom was a small price to pay for all of the times that she was almost caught coming back from being in puddle form. All the times that Annie had covered for her. Or Ray for that matter.

She began visualizing herself again, and was back to the way that she was. She was going to have a lot to work on again. Hiding from a whole new bunch of people. Her parents. Clark. Chloe.

Chloe seemed to be the hard part. She appeared to not take no for an answer. To look for the answer to any problem. Alex sighed. Back to the lying. Back to the hiding. At least now she knew what she was up against. She hoped.

Chloe sat in her car. She sighed. How long did it take one teenaged girl to throw on clothes, have breakfast and put shoes on? Then again, she did live with Lana Lang, queen of the pink, former head cheerleader, and all around 'princess of Smallville'. 'Just a not so subtle way of saying that she was a drama queen.' Chloe thought with a smile.

But she wasn't at home. She was at the old Potter house. Waiting for Alex Mack to leave her house, and explain herself. Because for once in her life Chloe Sullivan did not have an answer to the one question that kept her awake last night.

What is Alex Mack?

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked standing at Chloe's driver door. She watched the driver shrug.

"Figured that you wouldn't like to ride the stinky, smelly, loser-cruiser-bus." It was Alex's turn to shrug.

"Fair enough." She said into the window. She walked around the car, and took a seat.

Alex sat in silence. not wanting to open her mouth incase Chloe hadn't researched her. Alex couldn't risk it. It would just be bad if she expected Chloe to be so much like Annie that she had to look for the truth in what she was looking for. Had Chloe Sullivan done her homework?

They drove down the word until Alex got the answer to her question.

"So, Alex, would you like to tell me what exactly is GC-161?"

There it was. The answer to her question. The one question that she had been trying to answer since she was fourteen.

"I don't exactly know." Alex said quietly. "A chemical compound I suppose." Yes. That's it Alex. Play dumb.

"Don't lie. I hate it when people lie to me."

"I'm not lying to you, Chloe. I honestly don't know what it is."

Chloe's eyes remained on the road as she spoke. "Do you know what happened to David Watt's GC-161 load to the Paradise Valley Chemical Plant?"

How the hell does she get all of her information? And more importantly how does she pull all of it out of her head like that? The last person that Alex had seen do that was Annie, but even Annie had her charts. If Chloe was anything like Annie, she wouldn't stop until she found out the truth. Damn her.

"Yes." She hoped that Chloe couldn't hear her. She had though, and Alex inwardly scolded herself for answering honestly.

"Would you care to explain it to me."

"Stop the car." Alex said again.

"Why?"

"Just stop the car, put up the roof, and roll the windows up." Chloe pulled over, no questions asked, rolled up the roof and windows then she turned towards Alex with an expectant gaze.

"Well?"

"You have to promise not to tell a soul. Not to speak aloud what you hear from me to anyone."

"Alright, but I still don't see what this has to do with Watt's GC-161 load three and a half years ago." Chloe's eyebrow rose and she had an eager look on her face.

"When David was on his way to the plant, there was an accident."

"You aren't telling me anything I didn't already know."

"He almost hit me." Chloe gaped openly at her. "I was coated in the chemical. David thought that I was a boy. Lars Frederickson began to do illegal testing, and Vince Carter began to try and find me. One time he even stooped low enough to put a GC-161 scanner at the video store that I tried to work at."

"That's incredible. Not highly plausible but incredible. And it doesn't explain what I seen outside the school yesterday."

"Oh, that. Well you see, the chemicals reacted to my genetic make-up. This made me able to, well, do things. If that made any sense."

"Actually, it made more sense than you think it did. You see, the Wall of Weird, that wall in the Torch office," Alex nodded, "all of those people on there have come in contact with the meteors-"

"In the meteor shower."

"Yes. The meteors gave off radiation, which in their most popular case was that of Smallville's very own bald billionaire playboy."

"Who?"

"Lex Luthor." Chloe smiled widely.


	7. 6

6.

Lana was going on about something Lex doubted was anywhere near relevant to the Talon, or even him in general. All that he could think about was what kind of underwear Chloe was wearing at this moment, and how fast he would be able to get her out of them after Lana left.

"Don't you agree Lex?" Lana asked snapping him out of his Chloe-induced daydreams.

"Hmm?"

"About having Egyptian coffee beans imported. For the Talon, of course." She added quickly.

"Are you going to pay for them?"

"Well, no, I just thought that-"

"You thought that since I pay for damn well everything else Talon-related that I'd also pay for Egyptian coffee beans?"

"Well, yes. But when I said it, it didn't sound so bitchy. Lex, I have to say, you sure have been in a grumpy mood lately."

"Lana, just because I don't bow down to your wishes like a farm boy, doesn't mean that I'm in a grumpy mood." 'In fact I was in an excellent mood before you showed up.'

Lana's face turned many different colours before returning to it's somewhat normal colour. "Well - fine!" She said before storming out of the library.

"Finally, I thought that she would never leave." A voice said from behind him.

"Me neither," he said turning to his lover. Lex caught her lips in a soft kiss before pulling away. "Now, where were we?"

Chloe smiled. "I believe you were here." She said motioning to a place in front of the pool table. "And I," she sat on the pool table, "was here."

"Oh, yes I remember." Lex said taking his place in front of his blonde babe. Before he could get restarted there was a knock on the door. "Dammit."

"Ignore him," Chloe murmured against his lips. Another knock. "I'm sure he'll get the hint, and go away." Yet another knock. "Fuck! Alright I give up, answer the door." She said quietly.

"What is it?" Lex asked at the door.

"Mr. Luthor, I'm sorry to disturb you." Enrique, the butler apologized profusely. He knew better than to disturb Mr. Luthor, especially when Miss Chloe was visiting. "It's just that Clark Kent is here and he demanded to see you."

Enrique heard Mr. Luthor sigh from behind the door. There were some mumbling from Miss Chloe, and Mr. Luthor opened the large door.

"Take Miss Sullivan to her car behind the mansion, I'll go tend to Clark." Mr. Luthor said to him, before turning to Miss Chloe. Enrique turned around as Mr. Luthor kissed Miss Chloe.

"I'll talk to you later." He said to her softly.

If only Mr. Luthor knew what he was getting into.

Alex was sitting in the coffee shop sipping what was supposed to be a caramel latte, but was actually a triple espresso. She rolled her eyes. It wasn't even that busy and the girl still got her order wrong. Maybe she was just dense.

Just then, Chloe came barging in. She looked angry. Alex waved her over, and soon there was a gloomy Chloe Sullivan sitting across from her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She scanned the room for someone, then her gaze returned to Alex. "It's nothing." Alex's eyebrow rose. "Well, you see, I'm sort of seeing this guy."

"Who?"

"Not important right now." Chloe's voice was as sharp as a knife, as she spotted Clark. "But we were interrupted by somebody-"

"Clark?"

She watched Chloe do a double take. "Wha- How did you know?"

"If looks could kill, he'd be dead ten times over by now."

Chloe smiled. "I am known to give the death glare."

"You know what I think."

"Hmm?"

"It's a chemistry thing. If you think that you have it with this mystery man, I say go for it. Keep everybody guessing. Because sometimes in life, a little mystery is a good thing."

Chloe smiled. "I guess you're right."

The brunette brought her order over and stared at Alex the entire time.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced." The brunette said smiling at her. Her tray in one hand, she stretched her other hand out.

"Alex Mack. You're Lana right?"

Lana nodded and shook her hand.

"So, what's the deal with you?"

"What do you mean?" Alex asked taking a sip of her coffee.

"Are you gay or what?" In a matter of seconds Chloe received a triple espresso shower.

"What?!"

"It's just that you dress like a guy, and you're having a non-interview with Chloe." Lana rolled her eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Lana, I'm not gay." She said looking at the stupid girl, hoping that she would understand that that was just how she dressed. "Are you?"

Lana sputtered quickly before turning several shades of pink and red. She spat a "No!" before quickly returning to the counter to help an imaginary customer.

Alex watched Chloe smirk before taking a sip of her coffee. Since that was all that Chloe was doing she asked quickly. "So, Lana's gay then. Does that mean that Clark's single?"


	8. 7

7.

Clark was sitting in Chemistry class, waiting for Alex to come in. He didn't know why, but since she came to Smallville, he began wanting to see her more and more. And, he flushed slightly, he wanted to see more and more of her.

He had went over to Lex's to ask him if that was alright. To want to see somebody in the way he used to only think of Lana, and a bit of Chloe. And if he should do that while in a relationship with Lana.

There was something about Alex Mack that made him want her.

Then he watched her come in. She stood out like a sore thumb. Black skate shoes, baggy jeans. A tight fitting white tank shirt underneath a baggy plaid button-down shirt that looked like it came from his closet. Her long, wavy blonde hair hung down her back. She was a beautiful in her own unique way. Clark watched her come in and take her seat beside him.

"What?" She asked looking at him carefully. "Is there something in my teeth?"

"No." He smiled at her like an idiot.

"Well what is it?"

"Nothing." He said turning to the teacher. He had began talking about molecules or something, and for once in his life, Clark Kent could only concentrate on the blonde beside him.

Lana was sitting with Pete in Math. Alex was alone with Clark in his Chemistry class. Pete sighed as he wrote down the math equation. Lana was not going to like what Clark had told him.

What Clark had told him about Alex. About his developing feelings about her. Pete had rolled his eyes last night, when Clark had woken him up to tell him about all of this at three in the morning. Silly Clark and his ever-changing feelings towards women.

At least with Alex in the picture, Clark would soon break up with Lana. Lana would need some comforting, and who else to give the comforting but none other than Pete Ross.

He smiled at the thought. All he had to do was wait for it all to pan out. Then Lana Lang would be his for the taking, or at least for the borrowing.

Chloe was in the Torch. It was Tuesday, and she needed to put the Torch to sleep. It would be out in the world tomorrow, or at least the world of Smallville High.

"Football for a headline?" A voice spoke from behind her.

"You bet your pants." She smiled turning towards the voice.

"I think I might." Lex smiled down at her before crouching in front of her. Running his fingers through her hair softly before he kissed her.

"I have work to do. You know that I'm not going to get any work done"

"The Torch can wait."

"No it can't" She mumbled against his lips. She knew that she was fighting a losing battle. Lex was winning their little battle. She was going to rush if she was going to finish the paper for print by tomorrow morning.

"Yes it can. For at least an hour." He paused. "You know what?"

"What?"

"This is the most time alone that we've had without intrusions."

"You're right." She said smiling.

"Is it just us here?" Lex said after hearing a squeak in the hallway.

"And the night custodian."

"Chloe? Is that you?" The janitor called as if on cue.

"Yes."

"Damn." Lex swore as the janitor entered the office.


	9. 8

8.

The gang was at the Talon after hours, occupying the couches in the corner. Clark and Alex was sharing the love seat. Pete was easily reclined beside Chloe, his feet on the magazine covered coffee table. On Chloe's other side was Lex. Sitting in the overstuffed, green chair, he completed the circle.

Clark sighed. Although he felt uncomfortable sitting in his girlfriend's work, beside another girl - woman. One that his girlfriend didn't like for no apparent reason that he could see. It was as if she had 'The Amazing Homing Beacon of Hate' for women he had well, crushes on.

There he had said it, or thought it. Either way, he admitted it to himself that he had feelings for the tall blonde. Whether he'd admit it aloud or not.

"Clark!" Lana's voice shrilly called out to him from across the large room. 'God that is annoying.' He thought with a cringe.

"You don't have to yell, I'm not deaf!" He called over his shoulder. As his arm grazed Alex's he tried not to let the sharp intake of air sound noticeable, as he turned towards the front counter

"Well if you're not deaf then why aren't you over here?" She asked.

Clark had to hold back a laugh when he heard Alex mutter. "I wonder what crawled up her ass and died."

"Meteor rocks." Came Pete's retort.

Lex, Chloe and Alex chuckled as Lana came over to give them a refill. "What's so funny?" Lana asked pouring the rest of the coffee into Pete's cup.

"Surprisingly enough, meteor rocks." Alex said.

Lana tried raising her eyebrow and, as Clark was highly amused by this point, failed. "Really?" She asked not looking at Alex, but at Pete.

"You betcha." Pete said smiling. Clark knew that he was trying not to laugh. It was causing his smile to warp considerably into something reminiscent of a clown face. He watched as Chloe leaned over to whisper something into Pete's ear. She was obviously making it harder for him to contain his laughter.

Finally after it looked like his eyes would pop out of their sockets, Pete finally burst out laughing.

"I whole heartily agree Chlo'." Pete said eyeing Clark. He eyed the relaxed pair on the couch carefully. Something was definitely up with those two. Chloe was planning something. He could tell, there was a familiar glint in her eyes when she locked eyes on him. She was definitely up to something.  
  
========

"So, Lex, what do you think?"

"I think you've lost your mind."

She eyed him cautiously before giving him a seductive smile. "But that's why you like me." Cat-like, she manoeuvred her way towards him.

"Don't get confused. I don't like you."

Pausing, she looked at him in confusion. She moved away from him abruptly. "You don't?" Her voice quivered, as she watched him shake his head.

"I worship you." He said smiling before grabbing her and pulling her onto his lap. "You are my idol. My Goddess. I pray to you every night, hoping that you will still feel the way you do, and not want this to stop. I dream about you. When I am awake, and when I am asleep. God Chloe, I can't live without a piece of you in my life." He said between placing kisses on various parts on her neck.

She pouted softly before kissing his forehead. "Just a piece?"

He smiled. "You really want this plan to go in action don't you?" He asked as he smoothly undid her belt.

"Mmmm." She moaned against his neck. "I think that it will keep people out of our hair for a while." She smiled against his skin. "Or at least my hair." She said moving to remove any and all of his clothes that she could get her hands on.

"In that case, consider it done." He said smiling as he pulled her shirt over her head.

"Thank you." She smiled as she brushed her fingers along the bare skin of his shoulders.

"Now that should prevent most of the interruptions we've been having shouldn't it?" Chloe could only nod.  
  
=====

Alex came home and met up with the smiling face of Barbara Mack.

"What's with the clown face mom?" Alex asked going to the cupboard. Grabbing a green glass cup, that reminded her of their kitchen in Paradise Valley.

"I have a surprise for you." She said conspiratorially looking at her.

"What did you do?" Alex asked raising her eyebrow. Her mother was up to something.

"Oh, nothing." She said smiling. "Don't you have homework to do?" She asked trying to act casual. "You know, upstairs. In your room." She heavily added to her hinting.

"Fine, I'm going. I'm going. I'm going. Don't rush me." She said as she was literally being pushed out of the kitchen. 'Wonder what's gotten into her.' Alex thought as she headed up the kitchen stairs to the upstairs bedrooms.

Pushing open her door softly, she opened the door to find the biggest surprise of her life.


	10. 9

9.

Lex pushed Chloe against his desk softly. They were in his office in the Talon. Murmuring against her lips he spoke. "I say we take this else where. Do you mind?"

"No. I want you here."

"Here?" He smirked kissing her softly. "Where everyone and anyone could walk in."

Hopping up onto his desk she pulled him to her. "I'm not the one that doesn't want everybody to know about us." She spoke in whispers. They usually had to unless they were at the mansion. The one place they knew that they wouldn't get caught.

Chloe snapped out of her delirium. Daydreams were the one escape from the chaos that was her relationship with Lex.

If word got out that they were fooling around, she would be all over the tabloids. They wouldn't leave her alone, and Lex would be pinned a cradle robber. But Chloe didn't care anymore.

She was running out of excuses to tell people why her hair was often mussed up. Why she went through so many tubes of lip gloss. Why she has so many expensive pairs of underwear. She couldn't tell them that it was because she was sleeping with Lex. That once a month they went out of Kansas, where he wasn't that well known, to have a date and go shopping.

She just needed to talk to somebody about their relationship without getting any of the three looks of dis. Disappointment. Disapproval. Disgust.

As much as she loved him, she was tired of the hiding. The muffled noises. The inconspicuous touching in public.

Sometimes she just wanted to stand on top of the highest mountain top and declare her love for him. And sometimes she just wished that she could hide from her feelings.

Love and sex was a complicated twisted road that she had followed Lex down. If only they could get to the crossroads of declaration.

= ===  
  
"R-R-Ray?" Alex gaped at her former boyfriend.

"Alex!" Raymond Alvarado said running to embrace her.

She held on to him as if she wasn't going to let him go. He was a piece of Paradise Valley that she was glad to see. But it brought up emotions that she wasn't sure she wanted to be feeling now.

"What are you doing here? What about school? More importantly, does your mother know where you are?" She asked pulling away from him. She studied his chocolate brown eyes carefully.

"My mom got transferred to the LuthorCorp main offices in Metropolis. It was a big conspiracy between the mothers." He added with a smile.

"Figures. Only the mothers would do something like that." She said smiling. "I have so much to tell you. Do you want to walk to town with me? We're having dinner with the neighbours tonight, or I'd invite you out for dinner." She laughed giving him another hug.

"It's alright, I have to head back to Metropolis tonight anyway. Mom's picking me up in two hours."

"Two hours! That's hardly enough time for us to catch up."

"Alex, I saw you two weeks ago."

"I know, but more has happened. I have so much to talk to you about."

"And I thought you were the girl who didn't like to talk."

"Its Kansas, there's only talking to do around here." She said with a smile.

"Good point. I have my car here, so tell me where to go. I'm your bitch for two hours." He said smiling.

"Ray," she laughed, "you've always been my bitch."====

"Lana, I'm sorry, but I just don't see us going anywhere." Clark rehearsed to the mirror in the men's room. "Lana, I don't feel our spark anymore." He tried again. "I can't do this anymore, Lana, I'm sorry."

"Clark? Is that you?" Lana called into the bathroom.

"Yeah." He said turning around to the door. He had to hold back the laugh when he saw her. Her hand was over her eyes, shielding them from the contents of the men's room. "Lana, I'm the only one in here. You can open your eyes." He said with laughter in his tone. Closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath he prepared himself.

"Who were you talking to then?" She asked peering around the room.

"Me." She eyed him suspiciously. "Lana, I have something I have to talk to you about."


	11. 10

A/N: for any who were confused, all will be revealed by the end of the story.. no worries.. :D And wow, gets it before NS... you all should feel special... grumbles at NS' server

10.

Chloe watched Alex and a slim, cute, confident boy, walk into the Talon. They were joking about something. Well, Pete's plan was going to have to wait for a while then. She thought grimly.

Operation Mant, he called it. In actuality, the operation would be the perfect pairing of Clark and Alex. Judging by Alex's attitude towards this boy, Operation Mant would have to be put on hold.

"Alex." Chloe waved the tall blonde down. Alex smiled and led the boy over to Chloe's usual table. Chloe eyed up the boy. He was a tall boy. Dressed in Dickie jeans and a vintage tee-shirt. Chloe smiled, "Who's your friend?"

"Ray Alvarado." The boy said extending his hand. She shook it firmly, before replying.

"Chloe Sullivan." Giving him what she hoped would be a suspicious look, she said, "You're not exactly from around here are you?"

He laughed, "What gave me away?"

"Well, seeing as I have never seen you before, and I've lived here for over four years."

"Here I thought it was the clothes." Ray said sitting down.

"Well, Dickies isn't necessarily Smallville quality." She smiled. "Plaid is very 'in'."

"I've noticed." He laughed again. "I'm guessing you're a city girl."

"Metropolis bred." She smiled her usual bright smile. "At least I'm not the only one that will stick out like a sore thumb."

"I don't stick out that much!" Alex said feigning anger.

"That's just because you look like you came from Clark's closet." Chloe replied with a straight face. "So, are you two a couple or can Lana get a piece of him?" Bluntly put, yes. But she really wanted to know, if Operation Mant was a go or not.

"What?! You thought - Ray and I -" Alex laughed before turning a unusual shade of gold.

"Alex," Ray whispered, "you're glowing."

"Shit." Alex said before pulling her plaid collar up and putting her face down on the table.

"A side effect, I'm assuming." Chloe asked. 'Now this is interesting.'

"She knows?"

"Yeah," came the mumbled response from the glowing girl. 'She glows! She makes things fly, shoots electricity out of her fingertips, turns into a literal puddle of goo, and to top it all of she glows! Why don't I get special powers?'

"Alex and I aren't together any more." Ray said answering her previous question. "We're just friends."

"Good to know." Chloe smiled at him.

"Do you know any single girls around that would be interested?" He asked checking her out.

"I'm not, but I can try and hook you up with one of the waitresses if you would like." She spoke without thinking. Then she realized what she said, and paled.

"You're not?" Alex asked, here head shooting up off of the table.

"It's kind of complicated." She said not looking at the other blonde's pleading eyes.

"How complicated?" Ray asked. 'So this is what it's like to be interviewed by somebody who doesn't give up.'

"Too complicated." She said looking at him angrily.

"So, if its that complicated, why are you still in this relationship?" He asked.

"It's serious."

"So you're fucking him then?" Ray asked bluntly.

She didn't have to respond. The bright red blush on her cheeks told both Ray and Alex the answer.

"Then why is it complicated."

"I just is. Okay. If word got out that we were together-"

"What?"

"Lets just say that 'town pariah' is too weak of a word."

Alex just looked at her, obviously just letting it all sink in. Her eyes brightened before she loudly declared, "It's Lex!"

"Shut up." Chloe hissed.

"What's me?" A familiar voice replied from behind her. She froze. 'Shit! Shit! Mayday Captain. The ship is going down!'

"We were playing favourite millionaire." Chloe said quickly, ignoring the little First Mate in her head.

"But I'm not a millionaire, Miss Sullivan." He sat in the chair beside her. "I'm a billionaire."

"True. but if we were playing favourite billionaire, the category would be narrowed down significantly."

Lex nodded his head once, before looking at his surroundings. "And who is this?"

"Ray Alvarado." Ray declared proudly, extending his hand. "You must be Lex Luthor."

"How could you guess?"

"Just lucky." He smiled.

"I have to be going. I have a dinner with the new neighbours, Ray, give me a ride home?"

Ray stood up quickly. "Right." He said before turning back to Lex and Chloe. "Nice meeting you both."

Chloe nodded, then, shot Alex a warning look. "See you tomorrow Alex. Have a fun dinner."

"Will do." She beamed back.

As Chloe watched the two forms leave the Talon, she felt his eyes shooting into her.

"What was that all about?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do they know?" He asked shooting a glance at the retreating vehicle.

"No. They don't." She said lying to him. She looked into his eyes not showing the fear that lying to a Luthor brings.

"You sure that they don't suspect anything?"

"Lex," she smiled her 1000 watt smile at him, "you're just being paranoid."

"Good." He risked a smile back at her. "Because we wouldn't want anybody else knowing about us."

"Don't worry." She said, crossing her legs. Inconspicuously she ran her fingertips along the side of his pants. "See you later Lex." She said before excusing herself from the booth.


	12. 11

11.

George Mack was going down the hallway in the LuthorCorp plant when he heard his boss' voice call him. "Mr. Mack, may I have a word with you in my office?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Luthor." He said turning around to meet the eyes of the younger Luthor.

"Please. Call me Lex."

"Sure thing Mr. - Lex." He smiled.

"Shall we." He motioned towards his office. George nodded eagerly. He wanted to get on his boss' good side, he had been on Danielle Atron's good side for the better part of fifteen years, he wanted to keep his record with the Luthor heir.

Lex eyed the man entering his office carefully. He had suspected that this gentleman could hold the secret to the glowing meteor rocks. George Mack had been highly recommended from Danielle Atron, herself, and Lex was willing to use al of the resources that he now possessed to discover what exactly the rocks could be used for. That was his main goal. His ulterior motive, as Chloe would call it.

"Do you know why I hired you, George?"

"Danielle said something about my GC-161 research project, and a small project that you were planning."

"That is exactly it. George, first let me make one thing clear." Lex said, sitting down in his chair. "You are under my command. No matter what my father, or anybody else says, you work for me." Mack nodded. "Now, as long as we're clear, do you have any children?"

"Wha- Yes. Annie, and Alex." He smiled.

"Alex. Is she about this high, long, blonde hair."

"That's her." His eyes narrowed slightly. "She didn't do anything did she?"

Lex chuckled. "No, no. She's becoming friends with Gabe Sullivan's daughter. And Clark Kent."

"Kent?"

"Your neighbours." Lex said nonchalantly while looking over George Mack's list of previous projects.

"We're having dinner with them tonight." He said smiling.

"That should be interesting then." 'What with Clark's new singe-hood, and all.' Lex thought with a smirk.

"What makes you say that." George asked looking at him curiously.

"Just a hunch. George you may go. Your office has the information that you will need to start the project. I'll contact you if I have anymore questions."

George nodded. "Thank you again, Mr - Lex."  
  
========

"Alex! You can't wear that to dinner!" Barbara Mack scolded Alex sternly.

"But Mom! They're just jeans."

"Where's that dress that I bought you for Annie's grad?"

"It's ... uh ... somewhere?"

"Find it! I'm letting you make a bad impression of us to our hosts." She laughed as Alex scurried up the stairs. "Sometimes I wonder if she hears me when I talk." She mumbled to herself.

"I heard that!" Alex yelled down the stairs.

Alex was rummaging through her suitcases. Her mother had forced her to put the hideously floral dress into her suitcase, not the garage sale bags. It was a pale peach coloured. Firstly. Alex despised any colour of pink, or peach, but her mother had insisted. There were a pale gold coloured roses along bottom. Alex thought that it was the ugliest dress she had ever seen. Sure, it hugged her body nicely, but she wasn't the type of girl to show off that much leg.

She found the matching sandals that were discarded after Annie's grad, and never looked at or worn again. Give her a pair of worn in skater shoes any day, not high heeled pain in the ass shoes. It's not like she needs the height boost.

'If you want to be kissing Clark you might.' A little voice peeped up in her head. Strangely enough she recognized the voice as that of Annie.

"Kissing Clark." She mumbled, as she glided the Cherry Chap-stick across her lips. "What will I think of next?" The dress floated in mid air in front of her. "Stupid dress." She mumbled as she changed into the dress. 'Wonder who the neighbours are.'  
  
=====

Clark was in his room. Alex was coming to his house for dinner. He was officially freaking out now. There was something about that girl that was drawing him to her. She was special or something. And she was hot. He blushed slightly. 'Right, we've figured this out already Clark. Take a deep breath. You know you can do it.'

"I can't." He spoke to himself as he checked his reflection again.

'She's here.'

"Oh God."  
  
=======

"What can I do for you?" Lionel Luthor asked the girl cautiously. She could very well be a spy. Or the saving grace he needed to get to Clark Kent.

"I think you know why I'm here."

"I think you should be a little clearer. Miss Lang. Do you have any idea who you are dealing with?"

"The Lionel Luthor?" She smiled mischievously.


	13. 12

12.

"Yes, but I still don't understand why you are here exactly Miss Lane." Lionel Luthor smirked at the over confident young teen.

"Isn't it obvious?" She asked displaying a sweet smile in his direction.

"Not exactly." He smirked in response. "When you figure out why you wished to see me, let my secretary know. Then she can set up a formal meeting for you. Instead of just barging into my office like you own the place. Which, last time I checked, you didn't. I do believe that your quaint coffee shop in Smallville is funded by LuthorCorp as well."

"What are you getting at Mr. Luthor?" She asked with a blank look on her face.

"I thought that it would be clear. Let me explain this in your simpler terms. Miss Lang. Get out of my office."

"But why?"

"Wasting my time." He said before pushing a button on his desk. "Tony can I get somebody to escort Miss Lang out of my office."  
  
=====

Alex walked behind her parents past the neighbour's white picket fence.

"See, they have to be nice Alex." Her mother yammered, "they have a picket fence and everything." She smiled back at her.

"Not saying anything." Alex held her hands up in defeat to prove to her mother that she was not as close-minded as her mother believed her to be.

The house was a quaint two-storey buttercup yellow farm house. 'How unique.' Alex thought hardly resisting the roll her eyes that she knew was soon arriving.

They were greeted by a pleasant, smiling red haired lady. "Barbara. I'm so happy that you could make it. Come in. Come in. Let me take your coats." She smiled sweetly.

"Thank you Martha." Alex had watched her mother be overly - nice - to many people. Usually at PV Chemical Plant events and on the phone. But she could tell that right now, her mother was being sincere. Maybe there was more to this dinner than what had met the eye. Maybe there was more to - 'Oh my god is that a picture of Clark?'

"Johnathan should be over in just a few minutes, he's a little slow getting cleaned up." She winked at Barbara. "But I'm sure you go through that with your husband."

"Mostly with my daughter." Barbara smiled back at her.

"You're Alex, right?" Alex's head shot up at her name.

"Yes."

"Clark's out in the barn if you would like to go get him." Alex nodded.

'This was the Kent household.' She thought in realization. 'Clark hadn't even told her about that. The bastard. But it wasn't like he lied to you.' She reasoned. 'He just didn't tell her the whole truth. Boys.' She rolled her eyes, as she approached the large red barn.

There was a light on in the upper floor. There was a shadow moving erratically in the room. She could see that much. But the shadow in question was acting unpredictably. Darting from place to place. As if some superhuman was pacing around the room.

Manoeuvring her way around a tractor or two she made her way to the lit barn. "Clark?" She called hesitantly.

"I'm up here." He called nonchalantly. Alex took a deep, shaky breath and began to make her way to his voice.  
  
=====

Clark was starting to feel better. He had taken a deep breath or two, paced around the room, and yet he was still shaking on the inside. Sure, girls had been in his barn, and sure, at the time he was scared shitless. But there was something different about Alex. Something that made him even more scared. He took a shaky breath when she rounded the corner stair.

"Nice - Barn?" She said with a nervous smile. He could feel her blood coursing at super-speed throughout her body. She was nervous. That put him a little bit more at ease.

"Thank you." He said with a smile, as he casually knocked his telescope from it's almost permanent position. Facing the Potter house.

"Your mother sent me to get you." She said casually inspecting the room. "You into planets or something?"

Clark followed her gaze and settled on a picture from Dr. Swann of Krypton. Or at least, where Krypton was supposed to be. "Or something." He smiled at her. She laughed.

It was then that he gave her his full and complete attention. She was wearing a light peach coloured dress. It flared out at the bottom, and followed her curves, to the stunning neckline. Then she caught him staring at her.

"You look nice." He said flushing slightly.

Alex smiled a toothy grin. "Thank you. I don't usually wear dresses."

"Neither do I." 'Wait. Idiot!' "I mean, so I noticed." 'Nice save.' He could tell that his inner voice was rolling his eyes at him. He held his arm out. "Can I escort the lovely lady to dinner?"

She laughed again, before taking his arm. "When I see her I'll let you know. But for now, you're stuck with me." She smiled at him. It was nice not having to crane his neck down at somebody for a change. Alex was the perfect height for him, even if she was short.


	14. 13

13.

He observed the woman in front of him. She had evolved since the day that he had met her. Gone was the heartbroken sidekick. Gone were the spunky clothes and blindingly bright colours. Gone were the uncertainties brought on from years of belittling and being ignored.

In the place of the girl that she had once been was now a well polished young woman. Somehow she had found herself in the world. He just hoped that her place was with him.

Lex knew that she was becoming agitated with their current situation. Always worrying about what would happen, what could happen.

He had feelings for this young woman. This blond young woman. That alone sparked interest among his hired help. She was blonde. An anomaly in the love life of one Lex Luthor.

He wanted her. He needed her. And he would lose her if he let the outside world in on their little secret. If anybody knew what she meant to him - she would be in danger. Danger from his father. Danger from public perception of their relationship. Did they even have a relationship?

He knew that they were together in all meanings of the word, but when people were involved, he just pushed her away. Kept her farther than an arm's length away.

Pete suspected something, this much he knew. The glowering stares between the two of them were growing more constant and predatory lately. But, from what he gathered from Chloe, Pete would never put two and two together. And if he did, boy, was Lex in trouble. An angry Pete Ross was a force that Lex wasn't willing to reason with. If he could be reasoned with at all.

"Lex, I really need your help with this." Chloe said staring at him intently. Her eyes were boring into him as if she could see into his mind.

"I just don't see how me convincing Clark to go out with this 'Alex' girl will help me." He said leaning back into his chair. The expensive leather squeaked as Chloe stood up from her comfortable position on the other side of his glass desk.

A mysterious smirk played itself upon her glorious lips as she rounded his desk. "I can see that you are big on innuendoes, and ulterior motives Mr. Luthor." She was putting on a show for whomever may be lurking around the building. His father. He was staying in the mansion for the weekend. And that left Lex and Chloe without privacy for two whole days. "Lets just say it will take care of Clark for a while." She smiled seductively before moving behind him and running her hands along his shoulder blades.

"Your plan has a fault Miss Sullivan." He said motioning for her to take her seat. She shot him a taste of his trademark smirk, before again taking the seat across from him.

"And what might that be?"

"One, Miss Lang perhaps?"

"Lana is no problem. She's been reduced to a pile of blubbering pinkness." She looked at him in his eye.

"I'm not sure I understand." He was sincerely confused. Lana was always a pile of pinkness. What was new about that?

"Let me explain this for you in simple terms." She said leaning towards him. He got a lovely shot of cleavage through her purple and black button-down shirt. "Clark." She subtly licked her lips. "Dumped. Her." She leaned back into the chair.

"And you're assuming that he dumped her for 'Alex'?"

"I know that he dumped her for Alex." She smirked.

"And how would you know this Miss Sullivan?"

"He told me as such. Then there was Pinkness' account that he dumped her for some whore in Metropolis." Chloe rolled her eyes. "Personally, I value Clarks opinion over her's."

"This does make things interesting, doesn't it." He smirked. "Alright, I'll help you with this little issue," he cautiously lowered his voice, "if it keeps them occupied."

She smirked. "Oh, it will." She stood up. "Thank you for your time Mr. Luthor." She said before leaving him to his own devices.

"This should be interesting." He smirked before taking a drink of his scotch.


	15. 14

14.

"Clark can you please pass me the peas." Johnathan said smiling warmly across to his son.

Alex observed the Kent family under an imaginary microscope. They were too nice to each other, to be a normal family.

'There's something up about them, secrets, lies. Something to make them act this way. Maybe Mrs. Kent was secretly sleeping with the town coffee proprietor, who ever that was. Maybe Mr. Kent was secretly a Mafia boss in hiding. Maybe they're from outer space.' The last thought made her smile. 'Yeah right. And Clark can fly.' She inwardly laughed. 'Maybe they're robots.' There was definitely something wrong with this picture perfect family.

"How is your dinner, Alex?" Mrs. Kent asked snapping her out her Sherlock-like state.

"It's delicious." She replied with a warm smile.

'This from the girl who turns into silver Jell-O.' Her mind thought getting it's last word in before she shut it up. Reason began to sink in. 'Just because they have a perfect family doesn't automatically mean that they're keeping secrets. Does it?'

She decided to listen in on the conversation again.

"So what is farming like exactly?" Her dad asked.

'Oh god. Not the twenty questions of George Mack. Anything but the twenty-questions of George Mack.' Her father was pulling his usual routine around people he didn't know. Trying to act as natural as possible with a difficulty that Alex had only witnessed her father and sister use. The Kent family didn't seem to notice at all.

"Mom, would it be alright if Alex and I ate in the barn?" Clark asked noticing her dismay.

"Sure honey. Go right ahead." Martha Kent smiled warmly. "Alex," She called as Alex was walking by.

"Yes?"

"Don't forget some pie."

Smiling Alex took the two pieces of the pie.

"Thank you." She said to the seated woman.

"And Alex-" Her dad called as she was walking out the door.

"George be quiet." Her mother chided.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief as she exited the room. One embarrassment diverted - for now anyway. But dinner in the barn? Sure, she had already seen it, but that was a little bit too - well - romantic. And from what she had seen of her new friend, Clark Kent didn't do romantic. Was she just thinking about romance and Clark Kent in the same sentence?

Clark led her out of the door towards the barn. She couldn't help but laugh. Here she was. At Clark's house, in her bare feet and a dress, carrying two plates of his mother's apparently famous apple pie.

"What's so funny?" He asked turning around to face her. She smiled back at him.

"Nothing really." She said before extending the pie out to him. "Except that I have an incredible urge to throw this in your face."

"Don't do that." He said feigning shock. "That's the best apple pie you'll ever eat in your life."

"Really?"

"Blue ribbon material in every," he took a step towards her. "And I do mean every farmers market that Smallville hosts." He was so close to her now.

'How did he get that close to me?' Her mind wondered as Clark leaned in. 'Oh god. He's going to kiss me.'

"Hey, watch the pie." She said moving away from him quickly.

Somehow, he was one step ahead of her, and in an instant, the pie was in his hand. His other hand had wound around her neck and then he kissed her. Softly at first, then it grew into something else entirely.

(The author is growing tierd of finding new and exciting separators that this site will accept... many appologies -S)

Chloe was growing tired of Lana's incessant blubbering. Lana cried during dinner. Lana cried, rather loudly, in her room. Lana cried in the office of the Talon. There was no place, that Chloe could think of that Lana hadn't cried.

She had just gotten back from her abrupt meeting with Lex. Operation Mant was a go on his part.

All the plan entailed now was to keep Lana from tearing Alex limb to limb. Because there was no way that she could do that to Clark. Somehow Chloe didn't think that Alex had superhuman strength, or that she was made of steel. And yet, somehow Chloe didn't doubt that Alex was stronger than she appeared. Somehow Pete had to keep Lana away from Clark. Chloe rolled her eyes at the thought. 'How was he ever going to do that?' She thought with a smirk.

Lana was pretty easy. All that Pete had to do was romance her. Feed her chocolate. Give her roses. She would be his in less than three minutes. Lana wailed loudly from the other side of Chloe's wall. 'On second thought, Pete has his work cut out for him.'

Chloe grabbed a green post-it note and scribbled 'Buy Pete Chocolate' in capital letters, before sticking it to the inside of her wallet, where nobody would find it.

Smiling triumphantly she turned off her light and headed to the door. Lex was going to phone her and tell her where to meet him.

"Where are you off to?"

Chloe spun around quickly, caught. Her dad was at a convention in Metropolis over night. He actually went to a lot of those lately. So that could only leave one person. Caught by "the Pink" herself. Eyes smudged red with crying, perfect makeup smeared across her cheeks. 'If only Pete could see his princess like this.' She thought, inwardly smirking.

"I have to go do an interview I forgot about for my article on the swim team's pool pollution problems." She lied with ease. She couldn't lie to Lex. She would never lie to her father. Pete would know immediately. But with Clark and Lana, they were too easy to lie to. They usually would give a quirk of their perfectly sculpted eyebrows, and say something along the lines of -

"Well have fun. And don't get in trouble." Lana was so predictable.

"I never get in trouble!" Chloe said feigning shock.

"I'll see you in the morning?" Lana asked sniffling. Chloe nodded. "Have fun with the swim team." Lana winked before retiring to her room.

"When you say it like that.. I think I just might." She said to Lana's door before going down the stairs and to her car.


	16. 15

15.

Her phone was ringing. She had to change that ring tone, it was starting to drive her batty. Checking the Caller-Id, she smiled. He was right on schedule. Smirking the trademark quirk of her lips that her lover often sported she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Don't be coy, I know that you have call display." He smirked through the speaker.

"I didn't say that I didn't know it was you." She snarked back. Smirking she continued, "where are we meeting for our rendezvous?"

"Tsk tsk Chloe, I didn't know that you were that - needy." His voice gloated from the other end.

"When it comes to you..." she said, letting her voice drift away softly.

"No holds bar?" His voice smirked on the other end.

"Almost." She said letting her voice waver faintly.

"I'm at my apartment in Metropolis. Only almost?"

"Well, we do have the whole cloak and dagger routine going on right now."

"Is that what you've been worried about?"

"I just have a lot on my mind right about now, Lex, that's all."

"Like Operation, Ment?"

"Mant. I can tell that you've been highly observant lately."

"I just have a lot on my mind right about now, Chloe, that's all." He quoted her previous words.

"Hey, that's just not fair, Lex. You are the reason that my life's so complicated."

"You think that I complicate things." He stated firmly.

"No, Lex, it's just that -"

"I don't need excuses from you Chloe."

"I'm just tired of hiding Lex. I'm tired of hiding things from people. Tired of giving excuses to people for things that I want to be happy about, things that I don't want to be making excuses for."

"If our relationship is bothering you that much, maybe we should just stop seeing each other." He spoke the words concisely and carefully. And just like that Chloe could have sworn that she felt her heart shatter instantly.

"I don't want to lose you Lex. Please don't say that."

"You don't want to lose me, but you don't like what we have?" She could tell, just by the tone of his voice that he was smirking, and that his eyebrow was raised high above those adorable blue eyes of his.

"Lex, I want to go public. About us."

"You know what that could do to everything that we have hoped for? Everything that you have helped me plan?"

"Is that it? Is that all you can think about? Plans, and hopes? I know that your reputation is at stake Lex. I just thought that I was more important than what the people would think of you." 'Hit him where it hurts Sullivan, that will really make him want you.' Her inner voice was rolling it's eyes at her in a vain attempt to salvage what she and Lex had, what ever it was.

"I thinking about you Chloe. But if you're thinking about us that way, I can reconsider what I was thinking."

"Lex, don't do this. I need you."

"Again with the 'need' word. I'd say that's one of your weaknesses." Chloe was quiet on her end. So Lex continued, "I love you Chloe." He said softly.

Chloe's car swerved slightly on the road. "What? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you." She had to have heard him wrong. She was just imagining what he said. There was no way that he had said -

"I love you. There is no other way to explain how I feel about you Chloe." His voice was quiet, cautious.

Chloe was rendered into a lack of words at his words.

"Chloe Sullivan, speachless, is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Who are the proper authorities that I have to contact?"

"I'm sorry Lex, it's just that you really sent me on a spin here."

"You still haven't told me who the proper authorities to contact." His voice was chuckling on the other end.

"Quit laughing at me." She said turning alongside the curb outside the penthouse.

"I'm not laughing at you Chloe. Is that you already?"

"Could be." She said nodding at the door man. He just smiled in return.

"It is you isn't it." He smiled on the other end.

Using the spare key that Lex had graciously given her at their last get together in the penthouse, Chloe began to unlock the door.

"It's unlocked." He said.

"How do you know it's me?" She asked with a smirk.

"Intuition." He said opening the door. She smiled up at him from her place at the doorway. Taking her phone away from her ear, she looked up at him.

"Then I'd say that your intuition is pretty in tune." She took a step into the entry way.

Locking eyes, they both turned their respective phones off.

"Did you mean, what you said? Before, I mean."

"Which part." He took a step towards her.

"The part where you said those three magickal words."

"Who'll I contact?"

"No, before that."

"You mean when I said that I liked you?"

She beamed her trademark 1000 watt smile up at him before reaching her hand out to touch his shoulder. "You said that you loved me."

"You sure?" His eyebrow rose, "I'm sure that I said that I liked you."

"I love you too Lex." She said before grabbing his shoulders and pulling him down towards her.

(Meanwhile back at the barn... tee hee)

"Alex, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, I was out of line." Clark moved away from her quickly. So quickly in fact, that he failed to notice the randomly hovering objects slowly go back to where Alex thought that they belonged. A pen, over here, a shoe over there.

"It's alright Clark. You weren't out of line at all." She said looking at him. "In fact, you were completely in line." She smiled at him before pulling him down for another kiss.

----------

Clark smiled to himself before quickly pulling away. Heat was pooling in his retinas. 'Shit.' His heat vision was activating, and he didn't want to "Alex, go into the house." She looked at him like he was nuts.

"Why?"

"You forgot the ice cream." He lied quickly. "Go, hurry before the pie gets cold." He said smiling.

"Ok, I'll be right back then." She said holding her hands up in defeat. She hurried out of loft, in time for his vision to ignite a barrel.

"Shit." Clark said running towards a barrel of water. A bucket of water hovered near the fire before abruptly dumping itself onto the blaze.

"How did you do that? With the fire, I mean."

Clark turned around to face the one person he thought that he had gotten rid of. "Alex?


	17. 16

16.

"Clark. Answer my question. Please." Her eyes pleaded at him for an answer. 'What was he and how did he start the fire without being anywhere near it?' Alex's mind was racing. She knew why she was ... different it was just a matter of why Clark was different. Her mind quickly went over if Clark was anywhere on Chloe's infamous wall of weird.

"I could ask you the same thing." He said looking at her with interest. 'Shit, shit, shit. He seen me use my powers. What am I going to say to him? How can I explain, that I am some freak?'

"You first."

"Can you keep an open mind?"

"Sure." Alex looked at him carefully.

"Well so can I," he smiled, "And that means you have to go first. I'm not the best person to start explaining things. You go first."

"Its very complicated."

"I bet mines more complicated. And not really that interesting." Clark mumbled.

"I highly doubt that."

"So what can you do? Exactly."

"Pick an object, Like a pen or something."

"Why? Are you going to melt it or something?"

"No, I'm going to make it fly. There's a difference." She smiled at him confidently.

"What do you mean? Like telekinesis?"

"Exactly. Except I don't belong on Chloe's wall."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not - meteor based - Clark. None of my problems started thirteen years ago. They started sooner than that, actually." She laughed a little at the end of her sentence.

"Sooner than that? The meteor rocks are still active, maybe the rocks-"

"No, Clark, the rocks have nothing to do with me. My problems all started in California. With a chemical spill."

Clark looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"When I was fourteen," She chose her words carefully, concisely, "I was in an accident. A chemical plant truck swerved to miss me. This is hard for me to explain, Clark, but, I was doused in a chemical. It's called GC-161, and it gave me these powers." She held her hands out to him. "I've told you my story, now tell me yours. Please Clark?"

"I'm not from around here." He said smiling at her nervously.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific Clark, I'm not from around here either, remember, I'm not from Smallville, I'm from Paradise Valley."

"I'm from a distant planet."

"You're from a whoozimaha?"

"I'm from a now non-existent planet called Krypton." He spoke quietly. "That's my story. I told you it wasn't that interesting."

"Wow, you're right, yours is way more complicated than mine." She rolled her eyes at him. "Besides," she took a step towards him, "if you aren't from Earth," she smirked, "where's your space ship? And don't give me any of that 'in your pants' bull shit."

"Actually it's in the storm cellar."

"How convenient."

"Actually, not as much as you'd think." He said with a nervous laugh. "Maybe some time I can show you it."

"Why can't you show me it now?"

"I think I should let my parents get used to the idea of somebody else knowing my secret before I show you."

"Somebody else? Who else knows about it?"

"Pete."

"Captain Football?" She chuckled. "Nice." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Does Chloe know?"

"She did at one point, the only time she's actually made the wall, but she doesn't remember it."

"Why is that?"

"She was infected by a parasite." Clark looked down, nervously. "It accelerated her adrenal gland, and eventually would have killed her."

"Oh. Well, that's pretty scary. I guess there's more to being in Smallville that meets the eye." She said smiling at him. Clark leaned down to kiss her again, but this time she caught him by surprise, and pulled him through the little space between them.

Lana Lang was stopping by Clark's barn unexpectedly. Since Chloe was out doing God knows what with God knows who from the swim team, she decided to stop by the barn to put the thoughts of Lana Lang back into Clark Kent's farm-boy head. It turns out that he already had thoughts of another kind put into his head.

Lana watched in sheer horror as the tomboy slut made out with her boyfriend. Well, her ex-boyfriend, but that was why she was here, now wasn't it? To show that now insignificant farm boy that she was the goddess of his being. There was another girl making out with Clark, and it was pissing her off. She had to do something about this, and there was one person that she could discuss this with. And he would know exactly what to do about the situation.

She scurried out of the barn, teary eyed, towards her final destination. Metropolis.

(meanwhile, in the penthouse)

"Lex?" Chloe asked softly. Cradled in his arms, laying in his bed. Their bed. The one place that she felt safe.

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to be my date for the school dance?"

"Chloe - You know that I can't." She pulled away from him. Sitting, she was looking down at him.

"Is this another publicity thing? Lex, It's a school dance! The only press that is going to be there is me." She smiled. "And I hardly think that the Torch would be interested in our relationship. Aside from my personal involvement of course." Her smile widened.

Lex chuckled softly. "School dances are hardly my forte. You know that Chloe."

"I know. It's just that, I know that you get jealous, and Pete's asking Lana, and if Operation Mant goes as planned, Clark will be taking Alex. I don't want to be a fifth wheel."

Lex's eyebrow rose at her last comment.

"A fifth wheel?" He chuckled softly, "I hardly think that you are a rather large motor home."

"You know what I meant. Besides, Mr. Knowledge, a fifth wheel is a trailer, not a motor home." She smiled.

"Same difference," he said leaning up to her for a kiss.

"No way." She turned away.

"Women flock to me to let me kiss them, and yet you turn away. I'll never understand you Sullivan." He said shaking his head mockingly.

"Quit making fun of me." She said crossing her arms under her chest. "You don't get a kiss until you find me a date for that dance." She said smiling.

"How about that guy from the football team?"

"Lex, you're going to have to be a little more specific, there are a hell of a lot of Jockstraps in the school."

''Ok, um, can't Pete set you up with one?"

"Well, there's a lot more in my head than bubbles and air thank you."

"You're right, I wouldn't wish you on my worst enemy." He said pulling her down to him. "How about I get you a date for this thing? He can be at your doorstep ten minutes before you have to be there."

"Only ten minutes? Don't you trust me?" She smiled mischievously at him.

"Oh, I trust you. I just don't trust the guy I have in mind."

"And who is this mystery guy?"

"What would be the fun in telling you that?" He asked before placing a chaste kiss on her lips.

"Because I could hold back something," she ground her hips into his side. Whispering she finished, "Valuable."

"I bet you that I can withstand all that you will try to withhold from me."

"Wanna find out?" She asked grinning.

"I don't see why not." He replied before flipping them both over.


	18. 17

A/N: if anybody can find the Angel reference, I'll give you cake :lol: and if my flying times are wrong, blame the internet guy who cut us off, and my brother's LeapPad for saving my hide. :biggrin:

17.

"I told you to leave once, Ms. Lang." He spat the girl's name out like it was vile and disgusting. She was just a tittering little waif of a girl who thought she could tangle with the big leagues. Key word being thought. "I'm not afraid to do it again."

"I think that you would appreciate my offer, Mr. Luthor. Just give me a chance." She said stepping in front of him.

"And what does a high school senior have that would be relevant to me? I'm not interested in your petty games, and cheerleading squads Ms. Lang."

"I'm not here to ask for funding, Mr. Luthor, I'm here about Clark Kent. I think that I may have some valuable information for you."

'Really? Now that's interesting.'

Reclining in his expensive Italian leather arm chair he asked one question. "What have you got?"

--------

"Thank you for the wonderful time, Mr and Mrs Kent." Her mom said with a sweet smile. This smile was as real as the moon in the sky. As real as the kiss that seemed to last forever, between Alex and himself. She smiled softly at him into the dimly lit outdoors of the Kent farm. She was hiding behind her parents, he was behind his. Sneaking a wink in her direction, Alex smiled back at him.

"See you Monday Clark." She said before following her parents down the driveway to their house.

His nervous smile broadened and he ran his fingers through his hair. "See you Monday Alex."

"So you and Alex seem to have hit it off." Martha said giving him her all knowing smile, as she started washing the dishes in the sink.

"You have quite the habit of prying Mom." He said smiling at her, as he grabbed the tea towel. He began to dry the rinsed dishes.

"So?" She asked as if she was a small child wanting to know a big secret.

"Mom!"

"Sorry." She said smiling down at the soapy water. "She seems nice enough."

"Mom!"

"Right, sorry." She smiled again.

"I know you're thinking it. No, she doesn't have a boyfriend."

"I didn't say anything." She said in defeat. "Why don't you brood into the dishes, be useful for once," she said handing Clark the soapy cloth.

"I do not brood!" He said indignantly before sighing in defeat, and returned to what he was told to do.

'But that was some kiss.' He thought with a smile.

----------

"So Alex, Martha tells me that Clark doesn't have a date for the dance."

"Mom! Clark and I are just friends." She was willing to deny it to her death in the presence of her parents. Annie was going to be so excited, but her parents would get a little nuts. Or at least that was the way they were when she and Ray started going out. But that was after everybody thought the antidote worked.

"That's what you said last time."

"Dad, can you tell Mom that there is nothing going on between me and Clark?"

"Alex, honey, I love you, but I don't want to sleep on the couch for the next week." George Mack said as they stepped onto their porch.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Alex said before rushing up to her room. "G'nite, you treacherous betrayers!" She said before closing her door.

'But that was some kiss.'

Meanwhile, George and Barbara Mack were heading to their bedroom.

"What ever happened to our little Alex who wasn't interested in boys?" George asked as he opened their bedroom door.

"I think she grew up George."

------

The next morning, Lex and Chloe headed into the limo out for their monthly out-of-Kansas experience. Since it was a weekend, and she had told her dad that she was staying with her cousin in Metropolis for the weekend so she could go shopping in the city.

"Where to?" She asked Lex, before closing the window obscuring the driver's view of what went on in the back. Not that he didn't know.

"I was thinking maybe hopping on the jet and going to New York."

"I don't feel like spending three hours on a plane again." She said as she grabbed his tie, and pulled herself onto his lap.

"How about Los Angeles? It's only two and a half hours."

"L.A. is nice, but if i show up with any sign of sun, what am I supposed to say, she said smirking against his neck.

"I'll buy you sunscreen." He countered.

"Only if you say there's whipped cream in the mini-fridge." She said sitting up.

"What does this look like? A supermarket?"

She laughed, melodious music to his ears. "So that's a yes?"

"It's right behind the strawberries, and next to the chocolate syrup."

"You planned well." Chloe said smiling. De-tangling herself from him, she moved to the mini-fridge.

"Don't jump to conclusions yet Sullivan. It's for the ice cream. Besides, I'm a Luthor." Lex stated as if she was saying something rediculous. "We're known for our planning abilities."

"Among other things." She said, sending a smirk in his direction.

"Yes, I'm also known for being a tad - overzealous if you will." His voice mocking himself.

"And extravagant, don't forget extravagant." She added.

"Thank you. If I wanted to hear from the peanut gallery I would have brought an elephant."

"Have fun fooling around with an elephant." She stated, not moving from her place by the mini-fridge.

"I don't have a thing for animals. Although, you my dear," he pulled her back to him, "are a tiger under the sheets, and wherever else we may be." He said the words into her ear, just audible enough for them to take an effect on her body.

"Well, I have a very understanding bed-mate." She said speaking in almost the same tone.

"I'd say he's more than understanding." He mumbled into her hair. "I'd say he's godlike."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"Why not?"

"Gods don't have that big of an ego." She said leaning away from him.

"Sure they do, why do you think they have worshippers?"

"Yes, and you do have flocks of women worshipping you."

"I don't need flocks." He said pulling her back to her. "I just need one."


	19. 18

A/N: k, so becs1 from gets the cake ::smile:: and she doesn't even watch Angel.. haha enjoy ur cake...

A/N2: so apparently i didn't fall off the face of the earth or anything major like that... :huh:

18.

"Where too now, Miss Sullivan?" Lex asked as they rounded the corner to 'H&M'. Lex had won out, they were in NYC, the easiest place to get lost in the people. To get lost in your surroundings. To get lost in each other, not that they needed help in that matter.

"I'd say shoes, but I know how much you just love shopping, so how about coffee?"

"It's not that I don't like shopping." Chloe raised her eyebrow. "I just don't really see why I wasn't aloud into La Senza with you when you went to buy lingerie."

Chloe laughed, "It's not like you'll never get to see it."

"I wanted to help you pick them out."

"Well, they did have personalized underwear."

"Really?" Lex asked intrigued.

"Yeah, but unless you're name is "Mrs. Kutcher" or "Mrs. Cruise", They didn't have your name."

"I thought I had a higher status then them."

"Well you are hotter than them."

"I'd better be." He said pulling her to him.

"Lex, we can't just-" Her voice was cut off by Lex's lips against her own.

"We can't just what?" He said after pulling away.

"Never mind." She said before pulling him back down to her. "It doesn't matter now."

"That's good." He said before claiming her lips for his own.

---------------------

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Alex ran her fingers through her long blonde hair.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

She tapped her fingers on the kitchen table.

Tap. Tap.

'Algebra homework. Yay!' Her thoughts were heavy with sarcasm.

Tap.

Why did she need to know how to figure out 'x', 'y', 'z' and the rest of the alphabet?

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Then she realized something. 'Chloe told me that Clark was a math whiz. Maybe he could help me.' She thought nibbling on her bottom lip.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Alex can you please stop tapping? It's driving me batty."

"Mom, you're making a pie, how sane do you have to be?" She asked turning to her mother. After tapping twice more.

Barbara sent her a look that vaguely resembled 'Do I look like a pastry chef?'.

"Right, I forgot. You can't bake anything." Alex said holding her hands up in defeat.

"And you can't do math. I'd say we're even."

"I'd say we're screwed." Alex corrected with a smile.

"We are not screwed Alex." Her mom said before chucking a rounded ball of pastry dough at her head.

"Thanks Mom." She said as she extracted the small amounts of dough from her hair. "I'm going to go see if Clark is around." She said closing her book with a thump.

"And how is Clark?"

"Mom, when you say it like that, I don't think that I want to justify you with a response."

"I'm just saying, you two seem kind of close. Is there anything going on between you two?"

"Mom!?"

"So that's a yes?"

"Mother! I can't take this, I'm leaving."

"Have fun with Clark." Her mother winked at her.

"Leaving." She said as she opened the door.

"Be safe."

"Always." Alex said before closing the door behind her.

---------------

Clark was tired of baling hay. Even with his super strength and speed, he was still bored senseless from the never changing actions.

"Clark?" He spun around to meet the smiling face of his neighbour.

"Alex. What are you doing here?" He asked awkwardly.

"I came to see what you were up to." She said with a grin. "and, to avoid my parents." She laughed.

"Oh yeah? Sounds good."

"Clark, is something wrong?" She studied his face carefully.

"No. Nothing's wrong Alex." He paused, "I just need something to drink." He motioned towards the house. "Would you like something?"

"What do you have?" She asked following him to the yellow farm house.

"Juice. Water. Milk. Pop." Clark said with a laugh. "Dad's a real sucker for sugar." He said opening the door.

"Coke?"

"Sure. Mom? Where are you?"

"Upstairs." Came the faint reply from his mother.

"Hello Mrs. Kent." Alex called. His mother's footsteps neared.

"Hello Alex." His mom greeted as she entered the kitchen. "What brings you by?"

"Needed a break from the horrors of Algebra." She answered.

"I'm sure that, Clark," His mother motioned in his direction, "could help you with your Algebra after he's finished all of his chores."

"I'm almost done them as it is." Clark said passing Alex a coke. He shared a conspiratorial smile with his mom.

"Can I come watch?" Alex asked

"I'll just be a few minutes."

'Or few seconds, if I use my super speed, but she doesn't need to know that.'

"You can help me start the apple pie."

Alex's face brightened up. "Cool." She said with a smile.

"See Clark, Alex thinks my pies are cool." Martha shot a triumphant smile in her son's direction.

"You know, she's never going to let you live this one down, right?" Clark asked Alex.

"I hope not, I like pie." She said smiling at them.


	20. 19

19.

"What else can you do?" Chloe asked the other blonde. They were in Chloe's kitchen. Lana was still working, and her dad was out having a meeting with his boss. Chloe smiled to herself. 'It's amazing what you can do when you're sleeping with Lex Luthor.'

Alex was now rolling her eyes at her. "This one always freaks people out." Chloe gave her a blank expression.

"You're talking to the Queen of Weirdville. Hell, I'd enjoy seeing some odd, it's been so long since I've had my fix." she said before taking a sip of her water.

"Right. I forgot. I'm used to Paradise Valley. Everybody's so paranoid there."

"Well, we've got paranoid people here too. Most of which are locals, who either hate the Luthors, or have a thing with cows."

"Cows?" Alex asked in disbelief.

"Cows." She dead panned.

"Really?"

"Seriously, haven't you seen Mr. Kent and his cows?"

"I've heard rumours of them." Alex chuckled. Chloe looked at her. "I heard from Clark." Alex clarified with a blush.

"Oh. My. God." Chloe said jumping off of her perch on the desk. "You like him don't you?" She rounded the seated Alex.

"Who?"

Chloe smiled. "Could it be true that the mysterious out-of town stranger has fallen for our beloved farm boy?"

Alex smiled softy, "Take my hand."

"Are you changing the subject on me?" Chloe said in mock-disbelief.

"Is it working?" Alex responded with a wide smile.

"Why am I taking your hand?" Chloe asked suspiciously.

"Don't ask. Just do it." She said more firmly.

"Fine." the shorter of the two conceded by placing her hand into Alex's.

"This might be a little odd." Alex said looking into the hazel eyes of her new friend.

"I told you, I know weird. I need a little bit of odd every once in a while to even it out."

Chloe took a deep breath and took Alex's hand.

------------

Lex was sitting in the library. Waiting for Chloe to call him. Not that he was waiting, Luthors are known to be impatient, but he knew that she was supposed to be here, with him, momentarily. And as Luthors do, so do Sullivans, they are always punctual.

He dialled Chloe's cell and was greeted with her voice.

"Hey."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at home. Remember, my dad's out of town." her sly voice spoke through the ear piece.

"I thought you were going to come to the mansion."

"Something came up, Hon', I'm sorry. This is important."

"More important than modelling your new underwear for me?"

"Yes, more important." She said. There was a noise in the back ground.

"Who's there with you?"

"Alex."

"Alex?"

"Oh come on, you know Alex. George Mack's daughter."

"Oh, Alex." Lex quickly searched for the Mack file on his computer. He knew what she was going to do next.

"You still have no idea who that is do you."

"Alexandra Mack born -"

"Stop reading off of files! That's cheating!" Chloe's voice came impatiently from the other end. "You know I can't just drop everything because you're horny."

"Chloe, does Alex know who you're talking to?" He asked softly. If she was going to lose her temper she could very well let the world know about them. As much as he'd like to shout off of the rooftops his feelings for the intrepid reporter, she had a future without him. He would only prevent her from doing the job that she loves. The job that runs through her blood. Journalism.

"No, should I tell her? Would that make everything better, dear?" Her voice escalated to a level that only she could reach in anger.

"Chloe calm down, please."

"You didn't answer my question." A slightly calmer voice came over the line. "Wouldn't that make everything better?"

"I wish it was that easy Chloe, really I do-"

"This discussion is over. And until you can feel comfortable yelling off the top of the tallest building in Metropolis how you feel about me, don't bother calling. I won't answer." Her voice was strong. It must have taken a lot for her to say that. But Lex didn't want an ultimatum, he didn't want to yell off the top of any building, let alone the tallest building in Metropolis, which his father just so happened to own. Lex wanted her.

He was going to figure out how he could get her back.

-------------

"So you see Mr. Luthor, I could be a - valuable asset to you." Lana said taking a deep breath. She put on and straightened her rumpled pink shirt, before retrieving her pants from their discarded place by the door.

"It will be nice doing business with you Miss Lang." Lionel said with a smirk before tossing the young girl her underwear. "I'm sure you can let yourself out without a fuss." He said reclining against his head board watching his new - associate dress.

Lana fled Lionel's penthouse and headed towards Smallville. She had her work cut out for her now. She had to find all of Clark's secrets, before anybody knew that she was dealing with the devil.


	21. 20

A/N: the song's "Wounded" and it doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Good Charlotte... just so we're clear

20.

"You know that everybody thinks we're going out?" Alex said from her place on the barn railing. It was early Sunday morning, they were waiting to see Pluto, before the sun rose.

"Really? Why would they think that?" Clark asked pink colouring the edges of his cheeks.

"Honestly," Alex said jumping onto the stairs, "I don't know." She headed towards him. "I didn't tell anybody about the other night." She said running her fingers along his t-shirt, skimming the hard muscles beneath.

"Neither did I." Clark said softly, his voice catching slightly as she ran her fingers along his stomach.

Alex smiled as she ran her finger tips along his shoulders. She made her way to the barn window to wait for the sunrise. Strong hands appeared beside hers, one on either side of her. Slowly, one pointed to the stars.

"Do you see this bright one right there? If you follow the stars around it, it makes the shape of a wolf's head. See how one of the eyes is missing?" Alex nodded. "There used to be a star there. I think I came from there." Clark said into her hair, taking a deep breath.

"You think you came from?" She asked looking up at him. Leaning against him she could feel him breathe. "I don't understand."

Clark took a deep breath, looking at the stars, before looking back down at her. "I'm not from - around here"

Alex let out a snort of laughter. "You're telling me that you're an alien? Little green variety? Or big corn eating variety. Because there is no way that you're little." Alex said between fits of laughter.

Clark grabbed her by the belt loops and spun her around. Her back to the window. "I'm serious." He said looking down at her. Alex's smile faltered, before she ran her fingers up his chest.

"I know." She said before closing the small space between them.

---------------------------

The next morning Lex reclined in his office chair. He had a horrible night's sleep. Their argument echoing through his mind constantly. But he had found the solution at four in the morning, and it promised to be successful.

"Do it." Lex said into his phone, before closing it with a quick snap.

If Chloe was going to be like this, he was going to go all out. Whether she liked it or not.

----------------------------

'Lost and broken,

Hopeless and lonely.

Smiling on the outside,

and hurt beneath my skin

My eyes are fading,

My soul is bleeding.

I'll try to make it seem okay,

But my faith is wearing thin.'

Chloe was dancing around the Torch office with her headphones on. Not usually what she would do in her unique situation, but she needed to get her mind off of Lex. And that was pretty hard, because everything reminded her of him.

'So help me heal these wounds,

They've been open for way too long.

Help me fill this hole,

Even though this is not your fault,

That I'm open,

And I'm bleeding,

All over your brand new rug.

And I need someone to help me sew them up.'

'I'm not thinking about Lex. I'm listening to music. I'm not thinking about Lex. I'm listening to music.' She repeated the mantra over the lyrics in her head until it twisted around and bit her in the arse. "I'm not listening to music. I'm thinking about Lex.'

'I only wanted a magazine,

I only wanted a movie screen,

I only wanted the life I'd read about and dreamed.

And now my mind is an open book,

And now my heart is an open wound,

And now my life is an open soul for all to see.'

"Shit!"

'But help me heal these wounds,

They've been open for way too long.

Help me fill this hole,

Even though this is not your fault,

That I'm open and I'm bleeding,

All over your brand new rug.

And I need someone to help me,'

Chloe sat down in a huff. "That didn't work out very well." She said pulling the headphones off. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair when she heard footsteps down the hallway. She looked up at the delivery man. Her disappointment was obvious as she slouched back down.

"Chloe Sullivan?"

"That's me." She said with a huge phoney smile.

"Sign here." He shoved the clipboard into her face before handing her a large box.

'So you come along,

I push you away,

Then kick and scream for you to stay.

Cuz I need someone to help me,

Oh I need someone to help me,

To help me heal these wounds,

They've been open for way too long.

Chloe checked for a return address, but she knew who it was from.

When she looked up to thank the delivery person, he was gone. "Damn Lex and his sneaky delivery people" She muttered.

The music was still audible as she pushed the box the rest of the way into the room.

'Help me fill this hole,

Even though this is not your fault,

That I'm open,

And I'm bleeding,

All over your brand new rug.'

She began to tear at the tape on the lid, and emptied the box of all of it's foam popcorn before finding her prize.

'And I need someone to help me sew them,

I need someone to help me fill them,

I need someone to help me close them up.'

Chloe had to sit down. She couldn't believe it.

There was only one thing in the box.

It was exactly what she had wanted from Lex.

----------------------

"Did you do it?" Lex asked his contact.

"Yes Mr. Luthor, it's done."

"Good." Lex cooly said before hanging up his phone. He reclined in his chair before lacing his fingers together. Now all he had to do was wait for her to come to him. He had her interest piqued now.


	22. 21

21.

She almost missed them when she saw them. So small, two tiny pieces of paper that were now so dear to her, not just because they were from Lex, but because of what they stood for. They stood for relaxing for once, love and most importantly the two of them.

Definitely worth the wait. She thought with a smile.

---------------------

"Go for it Clark. You want her. And obviously she wants you." Lex was sitting in his usual chair in the study, Clark was on the couch.

"Are you sure Lex, I mean, you've never met the girl." Clark braced his arms on his legs before pushing himself into a standing position.

"All girls are the same Clark, you should just give them what they want." Lex said running his hand over his scalp. Lex stood up and placed his hand on Clark's shoulder. "Trust me Clark."

Clark eyed Lex warily. "Alright. I guess you do have more experience with girls than me."

"A wise choice. Alex seems like a nice girl."

"She is." Clark smiled a dope-like grin down to him. "Lex, while we're on the subject of girls-"

"Is there another new girl in Clark Kent's future?" If so this was news to him.

"Actually, old girl." Clark said looking down at his feet. "You seen Chloe lately right?" Clark looked into his eyes, pleading for his help.

"Here and there, why?" Lex lied smoothly to his friend.

"It's just that lately, she just seems lost - you know what, never mind. Chloe wouldn't like me talking about her behind her back like this, so just forget about it."

"You're right Clark. I don't." Chloe's voice came from the doorway. "Now if you'll excuse us, Clark, I have a few things that I need to discuss with Mr. Luthor." She walked towards them with a confidence that Lex only saw in the bedroom, before she turned her eyes away from Clark and met him with her own dark eyes.

"Sure Chlo', I have to get back to the farm anyway. Bye guys."

Before Clark was out of the building, Chloe was on Lex. Teasing his lips with her tongue, and her own before pulling away. "Thank you for the present, Lex." She said placing a soft kiss on his forehead.

"So we're talking now?" He asked pulling himself up off of his forced reclining position on the pool-table.

"I don't see what talking has to do with anything." She said with a smile before pulling her body away from him entirely. Turning she headed to the door.

"Where you going?" He asked, standing fully.

"I'm going to our bed." She stated simply before heading around the corner, and out of his view.

Lex smiled softly as he began to follow her. She was really something. She was his something. He was just glad that she was back to him, that she was his again, and that she wasn't in her 'Lex-must-die' phase anymore.

He followed her down the hallway to his bedroom with his smile still on his face.

---------------------

"So what was in the box?" Alex asked eagerly from across the table. It was three days later and Alex and Chloe were visiting Ray in Metropolis.

"Yeah, spill the beans." Ray said taking a sip of his coke.

"Tickets to the dance." A soft smile traced it's way across Chloe's face as she spoke. "When I called him on it, he said that it was because he wanted to go public about us at the dance." Chloe said excitedly before taking a sip of her Italian soda.

"Public, as in photographers and media?" Ray asked eagerly. Ever since Alex introduced Chloe and Ray, they had become fast friends. Albeit this was mainly because of both of their friendly way of looking at new people.

"Yeah. Kind of overwhelming isn't it?" Chloe said swiping her fingers through her hair.

"I think we need to go shopping." Alex said with a big smile.

"You. Shopping?" Ray's eyebrow rose. "You actually like shopping? Since when?"

"Believe it or not, Ray Alvarado, I can be quite the girly girl." Alex smiled.

"I'll believe it when I see it." He said, still in disbelief.

"Maybe I can ask Lana to hook you up with some hot, waitress." Chloe said smiling, "After all, she is my room mate and everything."

"I still can't believe that Lex want' s to go public." Alex said changing the subject quickly. "I mean, it's really sudden."

"Luthor's don't believe in the word 'sudden'. They're more into words like 'calculated', and 'innuendo'." Chloe said, her smile still permanently etched on her face.

"And don't forget 'sneaky'." Ray said with a laugh.

"Definitely 'sneaky'." Chloe said remembering her previous conversations with Lex in the limo.

---------------------

"This is everything I have on Clark Kent." Lana slid a rather overstuffed folder across to Lionel.

"Have you exhausted all of your sources Miss Lang?"

"Yes Mr. Luthor, I have dug up school records, geneology assignments, and the interview that Chloe did on him for Social Studies. This is everything that I could find on him."

"What about Medical records?"

"There weren't any. Even though he was sick around the time his mother was, I couldn't find any medical records. No immunizations, no chicken pox records. Nothing."

"Interesting." Lionel was now looking through the files. "What about Miss Sullivan, I understand that you have access to her computer. You mentioned that she did a project on him for school, maybe there's more there than meets the eye."

"I never thought of invading her privacy but I'm willing to give it a shot." Lana said before standing. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Luthor."


	23. 22

22.

"The effects of small amounts of GC-161 on the meteor rocks are inconclusive. Without proper and further investigation and scrutiny under a microscope, one can not be certain that it will achieve the desired results. Although the effects of meteor radiation on the chemical creates a highly different effect. A highly dangerous chemical imbalance, causing complete normalization of the chemical make up, therefore causing GC-161 to neutralize, and become blue in colour. This is odd, mainly because the foundation chemical in GC-161 is a deep mustard colour."

George Mack took a deep breath. Never again will he present to a board of directors hungry. Let alone the LuthorCorp board, and most importantly Lex Luthor. The very intimidating Lex Luthor. Casually sitting there, an intrigued look on his face, waiting for him to finish.

"What would be discovered after this investigation?" Mr. Luthor asked, his words sharp and concise.

"Well, Mr. Luthor, I would personally oversee the experiment of whether or not the chemical reacts to said rocks."

"Very well, continue on with the investigation, George." Mr. Luthor stood, before offering his hand in congratulations. "You have my funding, and unwavering support of this project."

George smiled. "Thank you Mr. Luthor."

"I've told you before George, call me Lex, Mr. Luthor is my father."

"Yes, Mr. Luthor." Lex shot him a smile, before leading the board out of George's way.

George took a deep breath. How was he going to explain to Alex that he was working on the GC-161 project again, and that now, there was a mutation in the chemical string of the antidote because of some random meteor rocks.

George rubbed his eyes warily.

If the GC-161 became active again in the test he was about to perform, Alex's life as a normal teenaged girl may be over once again.

When did everything get so difficult?

---------------

'When did everything get so difficult?' Lex thought taking a sip of his scotch.

He knew what he was getting himself into with Chloe, and she had reacted just as planned with the tickets, it was just - were they really ready to go public? He knew that Chloe thought that she was, but she didn't understand the lengths and the risks involved with the media. Well, maybe she did, but he knew for a fact that she didn't know what it was like on the other side of the microphone, tape-recorder, and newspaper page. She would have more than a by-line on the cover of the Daily Planet, she would be the news in the society pages.

Was she really ready for this kind of celebrity?

"I am, you know." She said softly from the door.

"You are what?" Lex asked sitting upright in his chair.

"Ready for this." She crossed the room, her flats padding softly on the expensive carpet. "Ready for scrutiny, anger, and mistreatment. I'm in for the long haul. It's part of the Lex Luthor package." She smiled broadly at him. "Besides, I have and excellent teacher, and great company."

"Should I be jealous of these people?" He asked when she sat on the desk, her legs straddling his body.

She smiled again, broad and bright. "Definitely jealous." She said before leaning down to kiss him.

"At least your day seems to be going well." She sighed, before running her fingers through her hair.

"What do you mean?"

"Lana's up to something. She isn't moping around the house anymore, and all of my files have been opened and unlocked." Lex's eyebrow rose.

"You think that Lana's been snooping." He stated.

"Exactly, but it doesn't bother me that she was snooping, as much as I think that she's saved all of my information files and word processing pages onto disk."

"Have you found the disk yet?"

"No, but, I was wondering-"

"I'm not breaking and entering into your house Chloe."

She laughed. "That wasn't what I meant. I can't get into her room, without her hovering over my shoulder. If there was some kind of terrible thing that you needed her for at the Talon, on the other hand."

"You want me to stall her."

"Exactly. I might make an evil genius out of you yet Luthor." Chloe said softly before leaning back down to give him another kiss.

"Lex! I need to talk to you about - Chloe? What are you doing!?"

"Clark, it' s not what you-" Chloe stopped defending herself when Lex's hand rested on her leg. She looked down at him, understanding clearly written on her face.

"You need to talk about Chloe?" Clark shot Lex a look that yelled 'Don't mess with me Luthor.' "Who do you need to talk about then?" Lex asked offering Clark a seat.

"Chloe, do you mind, this is kind of - you know - personal." Chloe shot Clark a look that screamed 'Don't mess with me Kent' as Clark graciously accepted Lex's offered seat.

"Anything you can say to Lex, you can say to me." She said firmly.

"Its really - awkward - for me." Lex watched Chloe roll her eyes at his best friend's comment.

"No offence, Clark, but everything is awkward for you. They practically had to rewrite the definition when you hit puberty." Chloe shot at the defenceless farm-boy, Lex chuckled.

"Now, that's not fair Chloe." Clark said, starting to stand. Lex waved his hand at the farm-boy, and he sat back down. Lex didn't want a Chloe versus Clark fight with him as the judge, and the reason they were bickering like children.

"Why are you here Clark?" Lex asked calmly, hoping to steer the discussion clear of the angry pair's conversation.

"I need to talk to you about -" Clark gave Chloe a look, before returning his gaze to Lex, and whispering, "-our discussion yesterday." Chloe, again, rolled her eyes. Lex had filled her in on his advisory conversation with Clark already. 'Not that Clark knows that.' A little voice piped up in his head.

"So talk." Lex held his hand out towards him. "You have the floor Clark." Farm-boy carefully eyed Chloe, who was now standing behind Lex; before turning back to the person he was directing his words to.

"I don't know how to approach this whole thing, Lex. I mean, with what we talked about and everything."

"With Alex, you mean." Lex said as if Chloe wasn't in the same room with them. Clark's eyes bulged before his eyes darted between the two of them.

"Lex." he hissed.

"It's okay Clark." Chloe said casually. "Everything that we talk about in this room, doesn't leave this room. I understand that." She could tell that Clark was still not convinced, so she continued. "Besides, Alex told me all the kinky details." She shot him a broad smile, and a wink.

Clark looked mortified, then his expression changed to that of complete embarrassment.

"It's okay, Clark, you and I have already been down that road, remember." She said before giving him another wink. She and Lex chuckled

"Well, I have to find the right time to ask her to the dance."

Chloe shot him a large smile. "I can tell her you're looking for her."

"Thanks Chlo', but -"

"Clark, Chloe and I are seeing each other. If she can get Alex alone with you, do you promise to keep this a secret until the dance?"

Clark gulped. Obviously this was a lot of responsibility for the farm-boy.

"You seem to be excellent at secret keeping." Chloe said, her eyes pleading with him. "Please, Clark?"

"Fine. You have yourselves a deal."


	24. 23

A/N: I have an old dictionary... and ON WITH THE SHOPPING eyes get wide, and a manianical smile breaks upon authors face... enjoy...

23.

Necessity: unavoidableness, fate, destiny, doom, unavoidable,

1. The quality or state of being necessary or unavoidable; unavoidableness; inevitableness

2. Absolute need; indispensableness; the quality or state of being indispensable.

3. Irresistible power or force applied, compulsion, whether physical or moral.

4. the absolute determination of the will by motives.

5. Extreme indigence; pinching poverty, pressing need.

6. That which is requisite for a purpose; a necessary.

-Webster's Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language © 1938

------------6. That which is requisite for a purpose; a necessary.------------

Clark sighed as he waited for Alex to arrive. She was meeting him in the barn. His Fortress of Solitude. His safe haven from everything.

"Clark?" Alex asked up the stairs. "Is that you?"

"Yeah." He said nervously as he ran his fingers through his hair.

So close now. She came up the stairs, pausing before coming into his view as if she was preparing herself for something.

Beautiful. Blue jeans. A tee-shirt with some random funny saying. Dickies shoes. Plaid sweater tied around her waist. Beautiful. Perfect.

"Chloe said that you wanted to talk to me."

"Yeah." He said snapping out of his delirium. "Have a seat."

"MmKay." She said before sitting down on the couch.

'Don't loose your nerve Kent. Just ask her.'

"Alex." He paused taking a seat next to her. "I was wondering - this is going to sound so ridiculous." He said giving a nervous chuckle. "But would you like to go to the dance with me?" He watched her face. Waiting for a reaction. Any kind of reaction.

Her eyes brightened to a beautiful shade of blue. She smiled broadly at him. "You're serious?"

"Yeah. Unless you don't want to." He looked down at his hands.

"No. I do. Sure." She smiled broadly.

"Great." Clark smiled broadly.

"Absolutely great." Alex said before kissing him. "But I have to get back home. I didn't tell my mom where I was going." She laughed, standing in front of him. Clark shot her a fake look of disapproval. "Shut up. If I told her I was here... Lets just say that neither of us would ever hear the end of it." He could smell her shampoo. 'Berries. She smells like berries.' She carefully took his hands in her own. Soft. Delicate. Perfect. He was committing her to memory. He was sure she was doing the same.

Clark laughed. "Then it's for the best." He stood up and followed her down the stairs. Their fingers still intertwined.

"Thank you Clark." She said, turning to face him. He could now see clearly into her beautiful eyes. Studying him, as he was her.

Flecks of gold, and silver traced her pupil. Beautiful. Perfect.

He smiled down the whole two inches to her.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask sooner. I just wasn't sure how to." He said before kissing her again. "Good bye Alex. Sweet dreams."

"Good night Clark." She said smiling. "And by the way," She turned back to him. "You were worth the wait." She shot him a beaming smile, before heading down the pathway to her house.

Beautiful.

Perfect.

'Is this what love feels like?'

------------4. the absolute determination of the will by motives.------------

"Alex!" Chloe called down the hallway. "What are you doing this afternoon?" She asked when she had caught up with her.

"Why?"

Chloe smiled her 100 watt smile.

"What are you planning?"

"Well since now we both have dates to the dance-"

"I knew you were behind that. What are you thinking?"

"Shopping." She smiled broadly.

"I don't know-"

"I will not take no for an answer. You're coming shopping and that's that."

"What are you conning poor Alex into now Chlo'?" Pete asked appearing out of nowhere.

"She's coming shopping with me." Chloe said quickly, before Alex could speak. "Would you like to be the judge?" Chloe winked at Pete.

"You know I can't turn down an offer like that, but on one condition."

"What?" Alex asked.

"You girls help me pick out a tux?" He asked weakly.

"Absolutely. Besides, Pete, you'd be lost without us." Chloe teased.

"Don't say that too loudly Chloe." He grumbled.

"Sorry Pete. I promise on my journalistic integrity never to utter those words again without your permission." She winked.

"Much better." He said linking an arm around each of the blonde's waists. "Now, onwards, and towards the cafeteria."

"Now you're speaking my language, Pete." Alex laughed.

------------3. Irresistible power or force applied compulsion, whether physical or moral.------------

Metropolis Shopping centre.

Billions of dresses strewn across the room. Pete and Ray sat in silence in the middle. The girls were giggling in the change rooms. Gossiping.

Pete turned to Ray. "How did you get conned into this?"

Ray shrugged. "Alex can be very convincing." He chuckled nervously.

"I get that." Pete said taking a sip of his smoothie.

A pause.

More giggles from the closed doors.

"How about you?" Ray asked, scratching his leg.

"They're helping me pick out my tux."

Ray nodded in understanding. "You have bad tastes?"

"We're ready boys." Came from one of the girls on the other sides of the mirrored doors

"I'm going with the town princess."

Doors open. Beautiful. 'Clark is going to be stunned if Alex chooses this dress.'

A floor length, ("Is there any other kind?" Alex had commented earlier) rich blue coloured, spaghetti-strap dress hugging her body, simple gems accentuated the neckline. Elegant. Beautiful.

A ruffle of chiffon. "Wait, we have to do this." Chloe said with a smile before pulling Alex's hair out of her face, and up in a make-shift ponytail.

Then Pete saw Chloe. A strapless deep purple gown. Delicate beading accented her body in all the right places. The dress practically shimmered in the harsh boutique lights. He hadn't seen them take that one off of the rack, and hold it up to her in the other room like the others.

"That is the dress Chlo'." He said before standing up.

"Really?" Chloe spun around in a circle, mystified in the way the skirt moved. Rhinestones glimmered up at her. She smiled brightly. "I think you're right, Pete. This is the dress."

"Alex." Ray said as he stood up.

"Yeah?" Her gaze turned from the bottom of Chloe's dress to the chocolate eyes of her best friend.

"That is it."

Alex beamed a very large smile at Ray. "Really?" Her nose crinkled at the end of her question. Alex hadn't changed a bit, she had just grown into a girl. A girl with very strange re-appearing abilities that always ended up getting her in trouble at the end. But she was still the girl who got through them in the end. She was still Alex.

"Definitely the dress."

Alex turned to Chloe, as Chloe was turning to Alex. They both beamed. "You know what this means?" Chloe asked, with a broad smile.

"Shoes." Alex said smiling.

The girls were too excited, and wrapped up in buying their dresses to hear the two boys groan.

"Did they say shoes?" Pete asked, turning to Ray.

Ray nodded.

"At least they're not dressing me up like a penguin."

Pete groaned.

"Don't remind me."


	25. 24

A/N: I wasn't sure how this was going to work, so I've been fiddling with it for the past week or so. enjoy...

24.

Twelve hours until Prom.

"So I've been following up on our sweet little - town Princess." Chloe said rounding Lex's desk.

"What have you got?" He asked his interest obviously piqued. And a smirk resting on his face.

"She did take a large number of my files from my computer." Chloe said looking down.

"Does that bother you?" Lex asked running his fingertips along her hand.

"It does." she looked into his eyes. "It's just that I never expected that Lana Lang would turn to the dark-side of the force."

Lex's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"The files that she took from me. They were about Clark."

"So you think that my father was behind this then." A statement. Not a question. Chloe nodded.

"It seems our very own fairy princess doesn't know what she's gotten herself into. Poor Pete." Chloe said running her fingers through her hair

"I don't see how Pete fits into all of this."

"He's taking her to the dance."

"Oh. Speaking of the dance, what colour are you wearing?"

Chloe smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Thus I was asking."

"Take a wild guess. And you'd probably be right." She smiled broadly.

"Purple?"

...

Ten hours until Prom.

"So you're trying to tell me that Chloe and Lex have been together for a long time.... and you knew about it?!" Clark cornered Alex.

"That's what I'm trying to say." She looked around the hayloft. "But keep your voice down. You're angry. And angry equals yelling."

"I am so not angry." Clark said. He was now pacing in front of her. "It's just - they're my two best friends. How could they keep something like this from me?"

"I'm sure they have their reasons, Clark. People can't tell you everything."

He stopped pacing. "But-"

"Clark, did you tell them about us off the bat?"

"Well, no, not really." He looked down to his shoes.

"Did you want to?"

Clark looked up. "I guess you're right."

"Call it brilliance if you will." Alex smiled at him.

"Alright. It's down right brilliance on your part." Clark teased.

"Well I could have beaten it into you, but that would have done me more harm than good." She winked before pulling him towards her. "Now, about my punishment."

"You call kissing me punishment? That's kind of harsh."

Alex laughed. "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

...

Five hours until Prom.

Chloe's cousin, Lois's roommate was a blossoming beautician. Chloe and Alex, in a way to avoid the long wait lists for the salon, headed to Metropolis for a few hours to primp. While Sophie, the roommate, did their hair, Lois gave them manicures and pedicures.

...

Two hours until the Prom.

Clark was pacing around his barn per usual.

"Clark, son, you're going to wear a hole into the floor." Johnathan Kent said from behind him.

"Hi, Dad." Clark smiled nervously at him.

"So you and Alex seem to be getting along fairly well." He said looking around the barn nervously.

"Yeah." Clark's smile broadened, showing off his pearly white teeth.

"I just want you to be careful. We don't want you burning down the gymnasium or anything." Johnathan laughed at his own, horrible joke.

"I will be careful, Dad."

"I'm not just worried about your - gifts - son, I'm also talking about more," he paused, and took a deep breath. It didn't take a bloodhound to decipher what would be coming next from the mouth of Johnathan Kent. "Pressing issues." Johnathan, in a manoeuvre to avoid all possible, awkward eye contact, began looking into his shirt pocket.

Clark fidgeted from foot to foot. He was nervous enough as it was, he didn't need his father, of all people, to do this.

"Just be careful, Clark." Johnathan said, emphasizing his words by looking into Clark's eyes and pulling his hand out in front of him. Then he promptly took out a strip of condoms. Putting them in Clark's hand, he clasped Clark's fingers around them. "I mean it."

Johnathan Kent left the barn, and his son, in a much different state than they had been before he had arrived.

"I guess that was "the talk" then." Clark said aloud to his telescope. "I think it went well." He said before pulling out his wallet and placing two of the five condoms in it. Just incase. Clark smiled a bit before letting out the breath that he didn't know he was holding. "Yeah, it went pretty well."

...

One hour and a half until Prom.

Alex was in her room. Standing in front of her mirror. Memorizing her reflection. Making sure she knew how to move in the dress. Making sure that she wouldn't fall flat on her face when Clark came to pick her up. Relieved that she didn't go with the high heels that Ray had suggested just to get out of the shoe store.

Speaking of Ray. He was downstairs. Waiting for her entrance. She didn't let him see her hair when she came back from Chloe's cousin's house. He had already seen the dress, the shoes, and the accessories. He didn't need to see the hair just yet.

"Alex, are you almost ready?" Her mom asked from the door.

Yeah. Ready. Right. Checklist.

Dress.

Check.

Shoes.

Check.

Stockings.

Check.

Hair.

Check.

Make up.

Check.

Deodorant. Perfume.

Check. Check.

Breath mints, lip gloss, Advil, camera in bag.

Triple check.

Ready?

No way in hell.

Shouldn't have had that latte with Chloe and her cousin.

Alex took a shaky breath and opened the door.

"Surprise!" Alex took in the view in front of her. Ray. Mom. Dad. Annie?

"Annie?!" Alex gave her a big hug. "I thought that you couldn't make it until Christmas."

"Like I'd miss my little sister's prom. I mean honestly, how horrible of a sister do you think that I am?"

"A mean one."

Alex was shaking.

Definitely should have said no to the coffee.

...

One hour until Prom.

Her father was snapping pictures like a maniac.

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Be nice Chlo'." Lois said with a laugh. "I don't want my pictures to have the infamous Sullivan eye roll in them. They need to have the famous Lane smile."

Chloe gave Lois the biggest, fakest smile that she could muster. Inside she was quivering. Where was Lex? Was he running late? Or was he just being mean. Submitting her to the torment that is her father and cousin. Maybe Lex was on the right track.

...

Ten minutes until Prom.

He stepped out of the limo. Walked to her doorstep. Took a deep breath. Rang the doorbell. Corsage in hand he looked into the window.

She opened the door.

And then he saw her. She was gorgeous. A purple goddess.

And she looked angry.

He was late. He had to admit, she did have reason to be angry. But he did say that he would have somebody at her doorstep ten minutes before she had to be there. He didn't lie. He was on time. 'Nice excuse Luthor.' His inner voice chided.

"You're late." Her voice said sharply.

"I'm sorry Chloe." He said softly taking her hand. 'Luthor's don't apologize.' His father's voice snapped in his head.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Lex." She said pulling him into her house. "I have been through hell and back. Between Dad, Lana, Nell and Lois, I swear I had to lock myself in the bathroom for an hour just so that they'd stop talking pictures!" Then, she gave him a devilish grin. "Now it's your turn."

She dragged him into the living room where her father, his plant manager; a brunette, whom he assumed was Lois; Nell Potter, who he had learned afterwards, had come down to take numerous pictures of Lana; and Pete and Lana, who was in, you guessed it: pink. Lex greeted the group before getting pulled, this time by Lana, into a picture of the four of the Prom-goers. He watched Chloe glower at Lana, who had her arm laced in his. He smirked. That's his Chloe.

Then after a whirlwind of camera flashes, Chloe, Lana, Pete, and Lex scurried off to their respective limousines, and headed to the dance.


	26. 25

A/N: I blame Red Bull for any errors that follow

25.

The roof of the school gymnasium was draped with long elegant deep red and gold curtains. Lights flashed in beat with the music. Red. Blue. Yellow. Green. Purple. Shapes of stars, swirls and spots danced along the walls which normally would proudly declare "Go Crows Go!". They were also covered with fabric, and were now just a deep, blood red.

"It's beautiful." Alex said spinning in a small circle beside Clark, admiring beauty around her.

Clark smiled. When he had seen her, he didn't know, she looked beautiful. Perfect.

Deep blue, to the floor. Her dress suited her. Suited not only her body, but her personality and her smile. He had to tear his eyes away from her body, and on to her face. She had just smiled at him, and led him over to the white table, where Pete and Lana were waiting.

That was when all hell had broken loose.

"Damn, Mack. You look hot!" Pete said looking her up and down appreciatively. Clark made a grumble in the back of his throat, that sounded territorial, even for him. Lana grasped Pete's hand to make him snap out of it.

"So where's Chloe?" Clark asked before wrapping his arm possessively around Alex's waist.

"She'll be here soon." Lana said looking towards the door.

"I feel kind of bad that she doesn't have a date, and we all do." Clark said pulling out a chair for Alex.

"Oh she's got a date alright." Alex said with a big grin.

"You knew!?" Lana asked standing up.

"Yeah, I knew. You know?" Alex looked at the angry brunette cautiously.

"Unbe-fucking-lievable. I'm her best friend, and roommate and she didn't tell me. How the hell do you know?"

Pete tried, to unsuccessfully calm Lana down.

"No Pete. I'm not just going to stand by and let that whore take everything away from me."

"I don't think that Alex-"

"Shut up Clark." Lana shot with a glare. "When Chloe gets here she's going to have some explaining to."

"I don't see what the problem here is Lana, shouldn't you be happy that she 's got a date?" Clark was confused.

"He doesn't know?" Lana asked Pete.

"Obviously not, Lana."

"I still don't see what the big deal is." Clark said. "Who's her date?"

"She's coming with Lex."

Clark paled, before declaring loudly: "WHAT!?"

-------------------------

Lex pursed his lips. The most beautiful Goddess he has ever seen in his life was asking him something that he would never believe. Then again he would have never believe that he was going to a high school prom.

"I'm serious. We should confront Lana about this whole Lionel thing tonight. End this indubitably. In front of Clark. And Pete. And whoever else is there."

"Chloe, think about what you're saying. Messing with my father has dire consequences."

"You don't think that I know this? But he's been using Lana to spy on one of our friends. I thought that Clark was more important to you than the stupid games that you and your father play. If that is the case you can just drop me off in of the building, and go back to your mansion to play with your father."

Lex smirked at her implication.

"Chloe," Lex grabbed her hand. "You know that Clark's friendship is one of the main reasons I decided to stay in Smallville before I really met you. But your love means more to me than that. Means more to me than anything that I know. And it scares me."

"Scares me too."

"So what do you say? We show up there, cause a stir-"

"And then break the news to Clark-"

"In private." He shot in.

"Why not in public?"

"Because Chloe, Clark needs to know his enemy before he can combat it." Lex said as they pulled up to the building. "Are you ready to face the music?" He asked with a smirk.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She said smiling before taking a deep breath. Lex took her hand as the chauffeur opened the door. Chloe took a deep breath before going to face the music.

Nobody was outside. A few stragglers. They walked up to the glass doors, and Lex swung one open for her.

"Thank you sir." Chloe said bowing gracefully and offering the following door to Lex in return.

"Ah, ah ah." He said voicing his dislike in Chloe's apparent lack of respect for the stronger sex.

"Fine. Open the god-damned door if it makes you feel macho." She conceded with a smile.

"What if I want you to open the door for me?" He asked with a smile.

"Only you Luthor." She said with a smirk.

"Fine I'll open the door for you then, if you're going to resort to last names again." She smiled.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Lex asked as they entered the great room.

"Convince me to do things. Without blackmail, I mean."

"It's my little secret." He said into her ear before leading them to Lana, Pete, Clark, and Alex.

"Well here we go. It's time to face the music." Chloe said with a smirk.

"And some music it will be."


	27. 26

26.

In this blackout inertia will hold our thoughts

And the exit sign offers no light to see by

Lex was holding her. Breathing in her scent, she was beautiful, she was his. That's all they were. That's all that mattered now.

Can we cast our shadows alone in the dark?

Dancing together was the only solace through the evening. They just swayed together. Grasping onto what was left of their sanity. What was left of the world that they once knew.

I can't see without you

Chloe sighed into Lex. He was her rock. He was her hero. He was her everything. He was exactly what she had needed, at exactly the right time. But most importantly, he was her's now. That's all that matters now.

When the world is crashing down

Part with it

Start again

Draped across each other, they held on for dear life, as the people around them didn't even bother to look away. But they didn't mind. They had each other. They had the the truth.

When the world is crashing down

These notes will fold themselves

Standing at the margin's edge to see where the daybreak ends

You can find compassion here

But the page turns too fast

They had exposed Lana to Clark. In private, as promised, just a few minutes ago. He was now sitting in the outer room with Alex. Chloe knew that they would be gone soon though. Between Clark's super-speed, and Alex's super ... goo, they wouldn't be found unless they wanted to be. And judging from the way that Clark was acting, he wouldn't want to be found. Not for a long time. Not until he was sure as to what was going on.

We fell in this hole that opened up

Giving up on hope

Living without love

And we still type black lines

When the world comes crashing down

These notes will fold themselves

Clark couldn't believe the audacity of this evening. Prom was supposed to be special. Prom was supposed to be perfect. This was far from that. This was far from anything Clark could ever believe.

Adjust the aperture to focus on the negative

Alex stayed by his side all night. They sat there, like two shadows in the night watching the stars move by. Observing the perfect worlds that were so much better than their own. So much better than their situation in general.

Like phosphors in the darkroom ignite

Everything was so much simpler just focusing on the stars, and not on Lana's betrayal. Clark sighed, and laced his hands with Alex's.

She looked at him and smiled.

Like dodging faces in the corner of the print

Lex and Chloe were just the catalysts of the perfect world that was Clark Kent's. Now there was only a hole. Only emptiness.

Frame by frame this hole is opening up and we fall in

How could he trust Lana after that?

But there was still a nagging doubt in Chloe's mind that he was going to. Even after what she had done to him. After what she had done with Lionel. Chloe tried to repress the gag.

She wondered if it had been her who had been Lionel's spy if Clark would have forgiven her. She knew that she was being optimistic. But she hoped he would.

There is no such thing as whole

There is a hole in the world


	28. Epilogue

Epilogue

Alex and Barbara Mack drove away from Smallville and towards California to visit Annie at school for her birthday. It was a surprise, but somehow, Alex knew that Annie knew all about it.

The town behind them was left in shambles, and somehow, Alex suspected that although it wasn't all entirely her fault, she still had an unknowing hand in it.

Clark had promised to e-mail her everyday. Her and Clark were pretty serious, but her parents still thought that they were more serious than they were. 'Parents these days' she thought with a smirk, as she changed the song on her MP3 player. Song lyrics filtered through her mind, bringing her into a different state than she was in when she came to the hardly humble hamlet of Smallville.

Before she met Clark Kent and his twisted little universe known as reality. Before she became an alien-farmboy's girlfriend. Before she had met Lex Luthor's girlfriend. Before she had realized that she wasn't alone. That she wasn't the only person in the world with superpowers. She could use them not selfishly now, that was too immature of her, she could use them to protect people, like Clark does every day of his life.

As much as she hated to admit it, she wanted to go back to Smallville soon, there was so much good that she could do there. So much bad that she could help fix, that didn't involve Paradise Valley Chemical Plant. So much good that she could do for Clark to make him see that his gifts weren't all that bad, that he could still have a blast with his gifts, even if he didn't tell anybody else about them. He had her now. That's all that mattered.

---------------------

He had her now. That's all that mattered. Lex held Chloe in his arms and inhaled the scent of her hair. She was beautiful. She was his. He had her all to himself now.

Upon Chloe's wishes he had quit testing GC 161 on the meteor rocks. She said something about not wanting her boyfriend to turn into a pile of goo. He didn't quite understand the analogy but that was fine, because she was sharp and witty and if she knew some sort of anything relevant to the project, which she didn't, she would tell him. Wouldn't she?

They were watching the premiere of some movie, he didn't care what movie, just that they could go together. Not in separate vehicles. Not having to wait for it to come out in video next year. Not having to worry about touching each other for too long. He could hold her forever, and nobody would give a damn.

Life was good.

---------------------

Clark walked into the expensive Metropolis office building. It took him a while to talk himself into this, but it was something that he had to do, something that he had to do for him and Alex. Something he had to do for himself.

He marched right up to the bastard in all of his magnificent glory and leaned against his desk.

"The next time you decide to go looking into my life, you had better hope that you have an excellent PR team. Because I will make your intrest in a Kansas farm-boy very, very public." Lionel Luthor turned his chair around and looked fearlessly into the eyes of the Kent.

"That sounds vaguely like a threat Mr. Kent."

"Really? I don't make threats, Mr. Luthor, I'm merely a Kansas farm-boy." Clark said walking out of the lions den.

"I'm sure that Miss Mack's friend Lars Fredericton would love to know where the person who ended his career."

"Is that a threat?"

"I don't make threats." He smirked at the lad. "Just merely a warning." Lionel turned his chair back towards the window. "Good day Clark."

---------------------

Ms. Chloe M. Sullivan

Box 158 Pleasant Meadows

Smallville, Kansas

U. S. A.

Ms. Sullivan,

We would like to inform you that you have been accepted into our Journalism Department for the summer semester. You will be contacted upon scheduling etc. before the next month.

Chloe looked at the letter in front of her. She had just came back from Lex's. The letter was waiting for her on the table, unopened. Waiting for her. It was from the Met. U. admissions offices. She hadn't told anybody that she had applied, except for Lex, with whom she would be staying with. It was Lex who had persuaded her to applying to the University. It was Lex who was her touchstone through it all. It was Lex who was her love, the man with whom she was willing to spend the rest of her life with, and probably would.

She smiled as she placed the letter on the kitchen table for her father to read, and headed out the door. She had to tell Lex about her letter. Lex would be proud.

It was the end of an Era. The end of many secrets. The end of what ever was going on in her life, and Lex's of course. But, she guessed, it was also the end of the fairy princess's reign. Finally, Lana Lang was dethroned. And Chloe Sullivan never felt better.

---------------------

Lionel Luthor was relaxing in his office chair when George Mack entered his office.

"Yes Mr. Mack?"

"What is this?"

"I'm more than certain that you know exactly what that is."

"I don't take bribes Mr. Luthor." George Mack was holding his ground, Lionel was impressed. No wonder his son had taken a shining to him. That and his work for one of Lionel's past conquests, Danielle.

"I know, it was merely a thank you to you and your family. And an offer, George, can I call you George?" Mr. Mack nodded. "Well George, you see, I am the reason you became working for my son to begin with. And since Danielle has no more need for you after the failed results of GC-161 in Paradise Valley, if you turn down my offer, George, I'm afraid that your family will be in desperate need of employment if you would like to send your youngest daughter off to University in the fall."

"Mr. Luthor I can't just -"

"Ah but you see George, you can. And you will." Lionel circled his prey, going in for the kill. "And you will like what you do. Or I'm afraid that neither of your gifted daughters will go to university, college or ever do anything other than flip burgers for minimum wage for the rest of their lives."

"I'll work for you Mr. Luthor, under one condition."

"You are under no position to be making conditions George."

"A request then?"

"Alright."

"You leave my girls out of this. They shouldn't have to pay for my sins."

"It's a deal, you start Wednesday." Lionel offered his hand out the door for George. Before he was out the door, Lionel stopped him palm to shoulder. "Oh, by the way George, if word gets out about anything that goes on at LuthorCorp, your request will be disregarded, and your services will be terminated."

"Alright Mr. Luthor, have a good day."

"Oh, you have no idea George."

When George Mack left the large LuthorCorp office, Lionel Luthor returned to his desk, opened up his previous file, and continued to read.

"You have a very gifted daughter George, whether you are aware of it or not."

Alex Mack's smiling school picture grinned at him from his screen.

END

A/N: MUAHAHAHAHAHA........

an UBER THANK YOU to ash, hope, and autumngold for reviewing damn near every chapter that was posted .... and to SciFiGirl1 to whom this wonderfully fun fic's credit goes to, because it was all her idea, she was the brains of this operation, I just gave it some life.... And a MONDO HUGE thank you to everybody else who R&R-ed, without any of you guys, this would have been another one of my under 10 chap stories...

FIC REQUIREMENTS:

1) Alex's family thinks she took the antidote and no longer has her powers, they are very wrong.

2) Lex has finally given up dating homicidal woman and is secretly dating Chloe.

3) Alex is in the same grade as Clark.

4) Alex's powers have a negative effect on Lana, it cause Clark to no longer worship the ground Lana walks on. Lana's powers over Clark are no more, he finally sees her for what she is.

5) Chloe enlisting Lex's help in playing matchmaker for Clark & Alex.

6) Chloe and Alex becoming best friends.

7) Lana making snide remarks about the clothes Alex wears.

8) Clark & Alex finding out about each other's powers at the same time.

9) Chloe never got involved with Lionel to find out Clark's secrets, instead Lana is the one who makes a deal with the devil, aka Lionel, after Clark dumps her for Alex.

10) Lex & Chloe doing a little snooping to try and find out what his father is up to and put a stop to it.

11) Lex asking Chloe and Clark asking Alex to be their dates for the school dance. Lex is letting it out into the open that he is dating Chloe.

12) Chloe & Alex going shopping in Metropolis to find the perfect dress for the dance.

13) any rating

I added

Quotes from the show(s)

Enrique

The Partial return of Ray Alvarado

Alex and Ray were an item


End file.
